So, you know how sometimes you're in the middle of a massive, high-stakes lawsuit and some old texts you sent to another billionaire CEO about a now-defunct government project suddenly become public? Just billionaire things.

Court documents from 2025 that were made public on Friday show that Meta Platforms Inc. (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent a text to Elon Musk back in February 2025. The subject? The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. No, not the meme coin—the actual, short-lived government agency.

Zuckerberg's message was supportive. He praised the "progress" made by DOGE and assured Musk that his team at Meta was ready to help by removing any online content that threatened or doxxed Musk's team. He capped it off with an open-ended offer: "Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."

Musk's reply was a heart emoji. Then, he immediately changed the subject to something even bigger: Microsoft (MSFT).

Just kidding. He changed the subject to OpenAI. Musk asked Zuckerberg if he'd be open to making a joint bid for OpenAI's intellectual property. According to the documents, Zuckerberg showed interest in talking about it but never officially joined what became Musk's $97 billion bid to take over the ChatGPT parent company. OpenAI's lawyers have previously pressed Meta about its role, claiming Musk spoke directly with Zuckerberg "about potential financing arrangements or investments."

These texts didn't surface because of a friendly chat history leak. They're evidence in Musk's ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman. In a separate legal filing, Musk's own lawyers are trying to keep these Zuckerberg communications out of the courtroom, arguing they are "tangential and prejudicial" to the case.

And what a case it is. The lawsuit, set to go to trial on April 28 in Oakland, alleges that Sam Altman defrauded Musk by steering OpenAI away from its original non-profit mission. Musk, a co-founder, says he contributed roughly $38–45 million in the mid-2010s based on that mission. He's now seeking up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing they improperly profited from his early funding and backing. Microsoft, which has invested billions and is now the largest stakeholder, is also named as a defendant.

In a characteristically grand gesture, Musk stated earlier this month that any money he might win from this legal battle would go to charity, a move he says reinforces his original non-profit intentions.

So, to recap: a text about helping with a government project (DOGE) led immediately to a conversation about buying one of the world's most important AI companies (OpenAI), and it's all now a sidebar in a lawsuit seeking over a hundred billion dollars. Just another day in the life of the tech elite.