Who should run OpenAI? 50% say Altman and only 23% say Musk, in ZDNET poll

Earlier this week, Elon Musk made waves by offering Sam Altman $97.4 billion for OpenAI — which Altman swiftly rejected, countering with a taunt about buying Twitter for a fraction of that. As ZDNET’s Tiernan Ray explained, Musk’s offer appeared to be a stunt to force Altman’s hand in what has become a bromance-gone-sour between the two tech CEOs. 

Regardless, it got us thinking: Who should run what is arguably the most powerful AI company in the world? 

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We asked, you answered: here’s who ZDNET readers think should run OpenAI.

ZDNET’s LinkedIn poll offered voters three options: Altman, Musk, or another candidate. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Altman won by a landslide with 50% of the total votes, compared to Musk’s 23%. While no third-party contenders materialized in the comments, several voters noted that they’d prefer “anybody BUT Musk,” full stop. 

That sentiment likely stems from how much power Musk already has in the AI space, especially now that he’s serving as an adviser to President Trump. Given the Trump administration’s recent reductions around AI safety and regulation — which were already nascent to begin with — a Musk-controlled OpenAI could further concentrate one of AI’s largest players under a small umbrella of interests. 

Altman may have come out on top, but it’s hard to say whether that’s based on his qualifications or track record, or just that he isn’t the other guy. 

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At the moment, Altman is trying to raise $40 billion from investors while also extracting OpenAI’s for-profit arm, OpenAI LLC — within the next two years — from the greater parent company, OpenAI Inc. (a non-profit). Some theorize that by tossing this offer out now, Musk is trying to put a valuation on OpenAI and thus stick Altman in a tough spot with his board, and forcing him into a fraught negotiation with Musk over the bid.