
Key Points
- $97B Tension Rises as OpenAI Presses Meta Over Musk Talks
- OpenAI seeks court order to force Meta’s compliance
- Alleged talks between Musk and Zuckerberg revealed
- Meta previously refused to hand over internal documents
The $97 billion AI takeover drama is heating up. OpenAI is now legally pressing Meta to produce evidence that could show whether the tech giant had a behind-the-scenes role in Elon Musk’s unsolicited bid to take over the company.
In a filing made public Thursday, OpenAI revealed it served Meta with a subpoena back in June. The request sought any communications or documents related to Musk’s bid to acquire OpenAI through his AI startup, xAI.
🚨BREAKING: OPENAI ASKED JUDGE TO SUBPOENA META ABOUT COORDINATION WITH XAI
> OpenAI says mr. Musk’s interrogatory responses name mr. Zucc as someone he spoke with “about potential financing or investments.” to bid OAI for $97 billion
> META: didn’t join or sign the LOI; says… pic.twitter.com/MlNIKuYO7v
— NIK (@ns123abc) August 22, 2025
Specifically, the subpoena targets possible conversations between Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about financing or investments that could have supported the proposed deal.
OpenAI rejected Musk’s offer earlier this year. But now, the company suspects there might be more to the story, and they want the court to help uncover it.
Meta objected to the subpoena in July, arguing the request was too broad and unnecessary. But OpenAI’s legal team isn’t backing down. They’ve asked the court to compel Meta to comply and hand over any materials related to “any actual or potential restructuring or recapitalization of OpenAI.”
These topics are especially sensitive because they lie at the heart of the ongoing lawsuit filed by Musk himself. The billionaire claims that OpenAI’s transition from a nonprofit to a public benefit corporation, a structure that allows it to take on large investments, violates the company’s founding principles.
PROBABLY BECAUSE — A group of investors led by Elon Musk is offering about $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit behind OpenAI, escalating a dispute with the artificial intelligence company that Musk helped found a decade ago. pic.twitter.com/azHS4k0BFx
— livefreeopinion (@livefreeopinion) August 22, 2025
A Meta spokesperson pointed out that neither the company nor Zuckerberg signed Musk’s letter of intent to acquire OpenAI, but didn’t comment further. OpenAI and Musk’s legal team have also remained silent so far.
Interestingly, as OpenAI continues to expand globally, including its new India office, its legal and competitive challenges are growing just as fast.
Musk’s Lawsuit Tied to OpenAI’s Corporate Shift
The backdrop to this legal drama is Musk’s broader lawsuit, which accuses OpenAI of betraying its original mission. As a co-founder and early funder, Musk has long insisted that the company should focus on developing safe and openly shared artificial intelligence.
But as AI competition exploded, OpenAI changed its structure to become a capped-profit company, enabling it to take on big investments while still limiting returns.
Elon Musk tried to enlist rival Mark Zuckerberg for the $97.4 billion bid that his consortium made for OpenAI earlier this year, but the CEO of Meta did not come on board, OpenAI said in a court filing. More here: https://t.co/c8HZAya9DR
— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) August 22, 2025
That move allowed OpenAI to raise billions from companies like Microsoft, which invested $13 billion. Musk, however, claims this shift turned OpenAI into a for-profit machine, one that prioritizes valuation over ethics.
This restructuring is key to the lawsuit, and possibly to Musk’s motivation behind the takeover attempt.
If OpenAI is forced to reveal that Meta and Musk held talks about investment or takeover strategies, it could raise questions about whether the bid was really about ethics or about gaining strategic control of the AI race.
These legal tensions also arise while the company pushes features like ChatGPT Go, making AI even more accessible to users, suggesting that while legal battles simmer, product rollouts continue at a pace.
Elon Musk tried to enlist rival Mark Zuckerberg for the $97.4 billion bid that his consortium made for OpenAI earlier this year, but the CEO of Meta did not come on board, OpenAI said in a court filing https://t.co/GdzN9RwuGv
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 22, 2025
Meta’s Growing Frustration in the AI Race
While OpenAI was surging ahead, Meta had its challenges. In 2023, internal filings from another case revealed that Meta executives were obsessed with beating OpenAI’s GPT-4 model. But by early 2025, the company’s efforts had stalled. Their models lagged behind rivals, and sources say Zuckerberg was “infuriated” by the gap.
That frustration sparked a wave of bold moves.
Meta poured $14 billion into Scale AI, a major player in training large language models. The company also quietly approached other leading AI labs to discuss acquisitions, signaling a deep urgency to catch up.
At the same time, Meta aggressively poached top talent. One of the most notable hires was Shengjia Zhao, a co-creator of ChatGPT, who now leads the Meta Superintelligence Labs.
As Meta doubles down on AI, including enhanced creator tools like AI translations for global audiences, it’s clear the company is serious about rebuilding its lead.
These moves suggest Meta is not just playing catch-up, it’s gearing up to dominate. But the timing of these actions, especially any conversations with Musk, raises new questions.
Was Meta planning to accelerate its AI efforts by backing a Musk-led OpenAI? Or were they simply keeping tabs on the competition?
The court may soon find out.
Could AI Competition Be Forging Unlikely Alliances?
What makes this situation even more intriguing is the history between Musk and Zuckerberg. The two billionaires have publicly clashed for years, often with personal jabs and dramatic headlines. In 2023, Musk even challenged Zuckerberg to a cage fight, a spectacle that never came to pass.
But AI changes everything.
Both men understand the stakes of artificial general intelligence (AGI), and both have ambitions to lead the charge. Musk launched xAI to pursue “truthful” AI and prevent monopolies. Zuckerberg, meanwhile, is turning Meta into an AI-first company.
So, could the growing pressure of staying relevant in the AI space be enough to push these rivals into cooperation?
OpenAI seems to think it’s possible, or at least worth investigating. The idea that two of tech’s biggest egos might have explored working together to challenge OpenAI underscores just how central the company has become in the future of AI.
Whether or not a deal was ever close, the court’s decision on OpenAI’s request could expose behind-the-scenes dynamics that have, until now, remained private.
Also looming is the broader fear of an AI bubble, as voiced by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who warns that inflated expectations could derail real progress. If true, the drama playing out here could be a symptom of the hype cycle reaching a boiling point.
What we do know: the battle for AI dominance is no longer just about who builds the best model; it’s about who controls the companies and capital that make them possible. As Google’s Gemini Live and other players push boundaries, the race is far from over.