2 years after Musk challenged Zuckerberg to a cage match, they were texting about DOGE and a joint OpenAI bid, court records reveal

Newly unredacted court filings from Elon Musk's 2024 lawsuit against OpenAI have revealed a surprising, private exchange between the xAI CEO and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg. The texts, sent in February 2025, show Zuckerberg proactively reaching out to Musk, stating, "Looks like DOGE is making progress." He offered the resources of Meta's teams to "take down content doxxing or threatening the people on your team" and asked how else he could assist Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts. This communication provides a stark contrast to the public 'cage match' rivalry the two billionaires engaged in just years prior.

The context for this unlikely collaboration was Musk's aggressive move to reclaim control of OpenAI. According to the same court records, Musk submitted an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid in February 2025 to acquire the company. His goal was to block its conversion into a for-profit entity, which he alleges in the lawsuit violates OpenAI's founding mission to develop AI for humanity's benefit. The texts suggest Zuckerberg saw strategic value in supporting Musk's contentious bid and his parallel governmental AI safety initiative (DOGE), potentially to counter OpenAI's growing influence and its partnership with Microsoft. The revelation adds a complex layer of corporate politics to the ongoing legal battle over AI's future governance and profit motives.