Elon Musk vs Sam Altman over Trump-backed $500 bn Stargate AI project

Donald Trump called Stargate 'a resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential', with OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank kicking it off with $100 bn led by Son, Ellison, and Altman

Billionaire Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman engaged in an online feud over Stargate, a $500 billion artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure project announced by US President Donald Trump.

 

The initiative, which Trump described as “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential”, will be funded through a collaboration between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. It is set to kick off with an initial $100 billion private investment led by Masayoshi Son, Oracle’s Larry Ellison, and Altman.

 

Despite the high-profile backing, Musk, a key Trump advisor and leader of the government cost-cutting programme DOGE, voiced his doubts shortly after the announcement. Responding to an OpenAI post on X about deploying the initial $100 billion, Musk claimed, “They don’t actually have the money.” He later added, “SoftBank has well under $10 billion secured. I have that on good authority.”

 

 

Altman initially took a measured approach, tweeting, “I genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time.” However, his tone shifted when addressing Musk’s criticism of Stargate's funding.

 

“Wrong, as you surely know. Want to come visit the first site already under way? This is great for the country. I realise what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role, I hope you’ll mostly put [the United States] first,” Altman replied.

 

Musk remained defiant, retweeting an image of a crack pipe with the caption, “Leaked image of the research tool OpenAI used to come up with their $500 billion number for Stargate.”

 

This dispute marks a rare public disagreement between Musk and the White House, where he serves as one of Trump’s closest advisors.

 

Satya Nadella weighs in

 

Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, whose company partners with OpenAI, also weighed in. During a CNBC interview, he was asked about the feud and remarked, “All I know is, I’m good for my $80 billion. I’m going to spend $80 billion building out Azure.”

 

The Stargate controversy adds another chapter to the ongoing rivalry between Musk and Altman. The two co-founded OpenAI, but Musk left in 2018 over disagreements about the organisation’s direction. He later sued OpenAI, accusing it of abandoning its nonprofit mission for profit-driven goals. A federal court hearing on Musk’s claims is scheduled for February.

 

Musk, who launched his rival AI venture xAI last year, has frequently criticised OpenAI and its partner Microsoft, alleging they benefit from disproportionate access to computing resources and engage in unfair competition.