OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — Elon Musk asked Mark Zuckerberg if he would consider bidding on OpenAI's intellectual property with him and some others in February 2025, according to newly unsealed court documents from Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI.

The unredacted court documents show text messages between Musk and the Meta CEO. Mark Zuckerberg sent a text message to Musk at 10:04 p.m. PT on February 3, 2025. "Want to discuss live?" Zuckerberg wrote. "Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help."

On February 3, 2025, less than half an hour after Zuckerberg's text, Musk reacted with a heart emoji, according to court filings. Musk texted Zuckerberg that he would call in the morning.

One week after the text exchange, on February 10, 2025, a consortium of investors including xAI, led by Musk, submitted an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid to acquire the nonprofit organization that controls OpenAI. Musk's attorney, Marc Toberoff, submitted the bid. The bid was aimed at blocking OpenAI's transition into a for-profit entity.

OpenAI filed a court briefing on August 21, 2025, stating that Musk identified Zuckerberg as a person he communicated with regarding a letter of intent about potential financing arrangements or investments in OpenAI. OpenAI said in the briefing that neither Zuckerberg nor Meta signed the letter of intent.

In August 2024, Musk sued Sam Altman and other members of the OpenAI board, alleging he was deceived into investing in OpenAI and that the founders shifted focus from a nonprofit mission to generating profit, according to court filings. Musk contributed around $38 million to OpenAI in its initial years and is seeking up to $134 billion in damages in the most recent version of the lawsuit.

In a conversation on December 13, 2024, Zuckerberg told Musk that someone had leaked Meta's letter to the California Attorney General in support of Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, according to court filings.

OpenAI completed its conversion from a nonprofit to a for-profit company in October 2025, although it still maintains a nonprofit wing. Jury selection for Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI will begin on April 27 in Oakland, California.