By sending the message that he wants to buy at 97B, he could imply that 260B is clearly exaggerated and create fear for these investors.
Hey Sam, I'll buy it for tree-fiddy, good luck getting anyone to invest at a bigger valuation now!
Seeing Elon Musk, it could be a plausible move to screw financing for OpenAI.
Without financing OpenAI may not have enough runway to survive. That would create a bigger market for x.AI, and also as a bonus act as a personal revenge on OpenAI.
https://openai.com/index/openai-elon-musk/
Musk is clearly referring on their lack of funds at the end of this message.
Edit: I love the edit, it's very straightforward now!
By sending the message that he wants to buy at 97B, he could imply that 260B is clearly exaggerated and create fear for these investors.