Elon Musk’s $10B OpenAI ICO Bet in 2018 Revealed: The For-Profit Pivot That Shook Silicon Valley

Internal documents just surfaced—showing Elon Musk's early push for a massive $10 billion for-profit OpenAI ICO back in 2018. The move would have reshaped AI funding overnight.

The $10 Billion Vision

Forget nonprofit ideals. Musk's plan aimed to launch one of the largest token offerings in history, funneling billions directly into AI development. No venture capital middlemen, no traditional IPO delays—just a blockchain-powered capital injection.

Why It Matters Now

Fast-forward to 2026, and the ICO model looks almost quaint. But back then? This was a radical bypass of Silicon Valley's funding playbook. It proposed cutting out institutional investors and going straight to a global pool of crypto-backed capital.

The Finance Jab

Wall Street bankers probably still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about the fees they missed. A $10 billion deal? That's enough to buy several yachts—or fund actual AI breakthroughs.

The Bottom Line

Musk's uncovered play reveals how close we came to a completely different AI funding landscape. It didn't happen then, but the blueprint is now public. And in crypto, blueprints have a funny way of getting rebuilt.

Musk sues OpenAI for breach of charitable trust

In his latest court filing, Musk is suing the AI firm for breach of charitable trust and constructive fraud. However, the AI company seeks to deny Musk any remedy for the alleged misconduct on technical grounds. It asserts that the Tesla boss lacks standing to sue because he made most of his contributions indirectly through personal donor-advised funds (DAFs).

The AI company also pointed out that Musk made additional donations through the fiscal sponsor YC.org, which it had designated to receive contributions on its behalf. 

Meanwhile, Musk calls OpenAI’s arguments “meritless,” emphasizing that the court had already ruled he has standing to sue as a “settlor” of a trust. He added that he is the settlor of his contributions to the ChatGPT maker, whether directly or indirectly.

Musk contributed about $38 million to the AI startup’s initial funding, which accounted for roughly 60% of the total funding. He also claimed he made countless non-monetary contributions, such as recruiting top talent, including the AI firm’s chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever. 

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, also acknowledged in his deposition that Musk’s initial contributions to the AI startup were crucial. He does not think the AI company would exist without Musk.

Brockman says Musk is just harassing the AI startup

According to Brockman, Musk’s latest lawsuit is his fourth attempt to make these claims, and part of his broader strategy to delay the ChatGPT maker’s progress through harassment. He believes Musk is using underhanded tactics to gain an advantage for his xAI firm.

Brockman also claimed that Musk is grossly misrepresenting facts on record to further his harassment. He noted that Musk had deliberately cherry-picked and shared snippets from written records to tell a different story. 

“Elon did not think that OpenAI needed to remain solely a non-profit. As the context shows, he agreed that OpenAI needed both a non-profit and a for-profit entity—the exact structure OpenAI has today, and that Elon is now suing OpenAI over.”

–Greg Brockman, President of OpenAI

Brockman also clarified that it was Ilya, not Musk, who suggested that the nonprofit should continue to exist in some FORM and remain connected to the AI firm’s mission. Musk actually created an OpenAI PBC (B-Corp) shortly after these discussions. 

Brockman further noted that Musk’s court filings glossed over the details of these negotiations, and they were intense and deeply personal. Brockman also pointed out that one of the people who had worked closely with Musk described him as someone who tends to vilify people who quit his companies.

The former Musk colleague also noted Musk’s Mars ambition, which started as a philanthropic project and grew into a commercial business.

Meanwhile, Brockman believes that Musk never truly treated OpenAI as an independent nonprofit. He explained that Musk seemed intent on starting a competitor, which is why ChatGPT maker had secretly considered removing him from its board.

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