Elon Musk-led group offers $100bn to take control of OpenAI

Good morning. We start with the latest chapter in Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s long-running feud over OpenAI. Also in today’s newsletter:

• Hamas says it is postponing the next hostage release

• BYD’s ‘God’s Eye’ driving system

• Tokyo Metro chief signals more fare increases

Elon Musk and a group of co-investors have submitted a near-$100bn bid for the non-profit that controls OpenAI, complicating chief executive Sam Altman’s attempt to convert the start-up to a for-profit entity.

Musk submitted the bid to OpenAI’s board of directors yesterday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. 

Shortly after the Wall Street Journal first reported the unsolicited approach, Altman said on social media site X, “no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want”. Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X.

Altman is in the process of converting OpenAI into a for-profit, moving the company away from its roots as a non-profit research organisation. Musk, whose start-up xAI is a direct competitor to OpenAI, has made multiple attempts to derail that effort.

Read more about the latest salvo in the bitter rivalry between the Tesla boss and Altman.

And here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• China’s London mega-embassy: A local inquiry will be held on Beijing’s plans to transform the old Royal Mint site, which it bought in 2018, into the largest Chinese diplomatic complex in Europe.

• Japan: Financial markets are closed for National Foundation Day.

• Results: BP, Kering, S&P Global and UniCredit report earnings.

Five more top stories

1. Hamas said yesterday that it was postponing the release of Israeli hostages planned for this Saturday “until further notice”, accusing Israel of not sticking to a complex ceasefire agreement between the two sides. The move is the latest — and potentially most serious — in a series of spats that have threatened the fragile deal.

2. BYD has unveiled an advanced self-driving system that it plans to install on its entire model line-up. Dubbed “God’s Eye”, the driving system was developed in-house by BYD and will equip the Chinese automaker’s mass-market models with features commonly only found on upscale electric vehicles.

• Chinese chip champion’s ‘snowballing’ growth: CXMT, China’s leading producer of memory chips, is rapidly gaining global market share at the expense of South Korean competitors.

3. A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s administration to immediately lift a block on payments to the US’s premier medical research institute, and to unlock billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects. The judge said the White House’s attempt to freeze federal funds was “likely unconstitutional”.

• Trump’s tariffs: Traders in the US are paying much higher prices for copper, aluminium and steel than their European counterparts as they rush to buy the metals before new levies come into effect.

4. Tokyo Metro’s chief has signalled further fare increases as the recently listed company seeks to win over shareholders by cutting costs and raising prices to cope with falling ridership. Tokyo’s subway system is considered one of the world’s most affordable and efficient — another price increase would add to evidence that steady inflation has returned to Japan.

5. The Cook Islands will this week sign a strategic agreement with China, in a move that has rattled the south Pacific country’s traditional partner New Zealand and deepened concerns about Beijing’s influence in the region. New Zealand’s foreign minister said that the government was “blindsided” by the move. Here’s what the agreement will cover.

Interview: Arm CEO Rene Haas

Rene Haas, the chief executive of UK chip designer Arm Holdings, speaks to Matthew Garrahan about the future of AI and why he is not afraid of China’s DeepSeek.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Singapore’s DBS: Chief executive Piyush Gupta signed off his 16-year tenure at south-east Asia’s biggest bank with record profits announced yesterday.

• Ruchir Sharma: Why are speculators still running wild when money is no longer free? Something even bigger than AI and the Trump effect is at work.

• The new age of empire: With the US, Russia and China led by men with expansionist ambitions, the implications are bleak for the current international system, writes Gideon Rachman.

Chart of the day

The nuclear energy industry, infamous for massive cost overruns and endless delays, is hopeful that building exact copies of established reactors can help keep new projects on track.

Take a break from the news . . . 

Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann sits down for Lunch with the FT to discuss the cheating allegations that derailed his career — and how he plans to restore his reputation and become world champion.