OpenAI board unanimously rejects Elon Musk's $97.4 billion proposal
San Francisco (AP): OpenAI says its board of directors has unanimously rejected a $97.4 billion takeover bid by Elon Musk.
“OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk's latest attempt to disrupt his competition," said a statement Friday from Bret Taylor, chair of OpenAI's board.
OpenAI attorney William Savitt in a letter to Musk's attorney Friday said the proposal “is not in the best interests of OAI's mission and is rejected.”
Musk, an early OpenAI investor, began a legal offensive against the ChatGPT-maker nearly a year ago, suing for breach of contract over what he said was the betrayal of its founding aims as a nonprofit he helped found a decade ago.
Then on Monday, while that case was still awaiting a key ruling, Musk and his own AI startup, xAI, and a group of investment firms announced a bid to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI. Musk in a court filing Wednesday expanded on the proposal to acquire the nonprofit's controlling stake in the for-profit OpenAI subsidiary.
Savitt's letter Friday said that filing added “new material conditions to the proposal. As a result of that filing, it is now apparent that your clients' much-publicized bid' is in fact not a bid at all.” In any event, “even as first presented,” the board has unanimously rejected it, Savitt said.
Musk has alleged in the lawsuit that the companies are violating the terms of his foundational contributions to the charity. Musk had invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018, his lawyer has said.
He escalated the legal dispute late last year, adding new claims and defendants, including OpenAI's business partner Microsoft, and asking for a court order that would halt OpenAI's plans to more fully convert itself into a for-profit business. Musk also added xAI as a plaintiff, claiming that OpenAI was also unfairly stifling business competition.
A judge is still considering Musk's request but expressed scepticism about some of his claims in a court hearing last week.
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Iran attacks oil tanker near Dubai; Trump warns of strikes on energy sites if Hormuz remains shut
Tel Aviv/Washington: Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday after US President Donald Trump warned that Washington would target Iran’s energy infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
According to a Reuters report, the Kuwait-flagged tanker Al-Salmi is owned by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and was capable of carrying around 2 million barrels of crude. . It was struck in what authorities later described as a drone attack. The company said the incident occurred early Tuesday, causing a fire and hull damage. No injuries were reported and the fire was brought under control, Dubai authorities said .
Oil prices rose briefly following the attack and added to volatility in global energy markets. In the United States, retail gasoline prices crossed $4 per gallon for the first time in more than three years, according to data from GasBuddy, as crude prices moved above $101 per barrel.
Israel said it carried out missile strikes on military infrastructure in Tehran and on sites linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut. Explosions were reported in parts of Tehran, with Iran’s Tasnim news agency saying power outages occurred in the eastern Pirouzi district following the blasts.
The Israel Defense Forces said four soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon. In recent days, three peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon were also killed in separate incidents in the same area.
Iran’s military spokesperson said Tehran’s latest wave of missile and drone strikes targeted US military positions at five bases in the region and sites in Israel. Thousands of troops from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division have begun arriving in the Middle East, according to US officials, expanding Washington’s military options even as diplomatic efforts continue.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Reuters Trump wants an agreement with Iranian leaders before a revised April 6 deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, adding that talks were progressing, while public statements from Tehran differed from private communications.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said proposals received through intermediaries were “unrealistic” and maintained that Iran was focused on defending itself.
In a social media post, Trump said that if a deal is not reached soon and the strait is not reopened, the US would strike Iran’s electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island. However, a report in The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told aides he may be willing to end the military campaign even if the strait remains largely closed and address reopening it later. The White House referred to earlier remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the strait would be opened “one way or another.”
The administration has also requested an additional $200 billion in funding for the conflict, a proposal that faces opposition in the US Congress.
