Hajra Naz
OpenAI is demanding that Meta hand over documents tied to any coordinated plans with Elon Musk and his AI startup, xAI, regarding a possible acquisition or investment in the ChatGPT-maker.
The request surfaced in a court filing on Thursday as part of Musk’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI, which challenges the company’s restructuring into a public benefit corporation. OpenAI’s legal team revealed they subpoenaed Meta in June for evidence about its role in Musk’s unsolicited $97 billion takeover bid made in February. While OpenAI rejected Musk’s offer, the filing suggests Musk held direct conversations with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about potential financing or investment terms linked to xAI’s bid.
Meta initially resisted OpenAI’s subpoena in July. Now, OpenAI’s lawyers are asking the court to enforce a new order, seeking not only communications about Musk’s bid but also any Meta documents related to OpenAI’s restructuring, recapitalization, or future IPO plans—issues central to Musk’s legal challenge.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone pointed to the filing itself, which confirmed neither Zuckerberg nor Meta signed Musk’s letter of intent. Beyond that, Meta declined to comment. OpenAI and Musk’s legal representatives have also remained silent.
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Meanwhile, the case unfolds against the backdrop of Meta’s own AI race. In 2023, leaked court documents revealed Meta executives were fixated on building an AI model stronger than OpenAI’s GPT-4. By early 2025, however, industry insiders reported that Meta’s flagship AI systems had slipped behind leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic—frustrating Zuckerberg.
In response, Zuckerberg doubled down. He launched Meta Superintelligence Labs, hiring away key OpenAI talent, including Shengjia Zhao, one of ChatGPT’s co-creators. Meta has also poured $14 billion into Scale AI and quietly explored other potential AI acquisitions to catch up in the frontier AI arms race.
While it remains unclear how far Musk and Zuckerberg’s alleged discussions progressed, the idea of collaboration between the two billionaires underscores the escalating competition. Just two years ago, Musk publicly challenged Zuckerberg to a cage fight—a spectacle that never happened. Yet the explosive growth of generative AI may have shifted their rivalry into uneasy alignment.
For Musk, the case is about more than takeover ambitions. He has argued that OpenAI’s shift from a nonprofit research lab to a for-profit entity violates its founding mission of building safe and open AI. By seeking Meta’s records, OpenAI’s lawyers hope to weaken Musk’s claims and highlight the high-stakes battle shaping the future of the global AI industry.
Meta’s attorneys, however, have urged the court to reject the request. They argue that Musk and xAI should provide any relevant evidence directly and that Meta’s internal discussions about OpenAI’s structure have no bearing on the lawsuit.
The outcome could determine not only the trajectory of Musk’s legal fight but also the balance of power among the tech giants racing to dominate the AI frontier.
