Elon Musk Once Backed an OpenAI ICO Plan During Early Crypto Boom, Internal Notes Reveal

Internal notes from early discussions between Elon Musk and the founders of OpenAI reveal that Musk briefly supported the idea of using an initial coin offering (ICO) to fund the organization, before abandoning the plan and eventually leaving the project. The details have surfaced through call transcripts released as part of OpenAI’s response to Musk’s ongoing lawsuit, offering a rare look into the organization’s early funding considerations at the height of the crypto boom.

According to the transcripts, conversations held in January 2018 show Musk agreeing that OpenAI could pursue an ICO to raise as much as $10 billion. At the time, ICOs were a popular fundraising mechanism, especially during the 2017–2018 crypto bull market, when blockchain startups raised billions by selling tokens directly to the public. Regulatory frameworks were still unclear, and investor appetite for crypto assets was exceptionally strong, making token sales appear faster and more flexible than traditional venture capital funding.

The released notes indicate that Musk and other OpenAI founders discussed creating a for-profit entity that could support the nonprofit’s mission, with the ICO playing a central role in that strategy. This reflects how seriously token-based funding models were considered even by prominent technology leaders operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence and blockchain innovation.

However, by the end of January 2018, OpenAI’s founders stated that Musk had reversed his position. According to OpenAI, Musk concluded that the organization would be unable to raise sufficient capital through an ICO and chose instead to focus his efforts on artificial intelligence development at Tesla. Later that year, Musk formally departed from OpenAI.

Following his exit, OpenAI adopted its current structure, combining a controlling nonprofit with a public benefit corporation, a model designed to balance commercial activity with its broader mission. The resurfacing of these ICO discussions through legal filings provides fresh insight into a pivotal moment in OpenAI’s early evolution and highlights how quickly sentiment around crypto fundraising shifted as regulatory scrutiny increased and market conditions cooled.