Elon Musk clashes with OpenAI’s Sam Altman over Donald Trump’s $500 billion AI project

The comments mark a rare example of a rift between the world’s richest man and Donald Trump, with Elon Musk playing a key role in the new administration after spending $270 million on the campaign trail.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump, on his first full day in the White House, announced a major investment to build infrastructure for AI led by Japanese giant SoftBank and ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Trump said the company, called Stargate, “will invest at least $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States.”

Stargate is already beginning to build data centers and generate electricity needed for the further development of rapidly evolving AI technology.

Donald Trump said it was a “resounding statement of confidence in America’s potential” under his new administration, with an initial private investment of $100 billion that could grow to five times that sum.

However, Elon Musk, a close advisor to Donald Trump who helped fund his campaign and is now leading a government cost-cutting initiative, questioned the value of that investment hours later.

“They don’t really have any money,” Musk said on his X social media platform.

“SoftBank has secured well under $10 billion. I have that on good authority,” he added.

Sam Altman responded by saying that Elon Musk was “wrong, as you probably know” and inviting him to come visit the first Texas site already under construction.

“This is great for the country. I realize that what is great for the country is not always what is optimal for your businesses, but in your new role, I hope you will prioritize ( America),” Altman wrote: using an American flag emoji to represent America.

Reason behind the shock

The standoff over Stargate is part of a years-long conflict between Elon Musk and Sam Altman that began with a boardroom rivalry over who should run OpenAI, which both men helped found. the Associated Press news agency reported.

Musk, who is an early investor and board member of OpenAI, sued Altman’s company last year, alleging it betrayed its founding goals as a purpose-driven research lab non-profit organization benefiting the public good rather than seeking profits.

Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and seeking a court order that would halt OpenAI’s plans to become more of a for-profit company. A hearing is scheduled for early February in federal court in California.

The world’s richest man, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and X, last year launched his own rival AI company, xAI, which is building its own large data center in Memphis, Tennessee.

When did Stargate start?

Tech media outlet The Information first reported on an OpenAI data center project called Stargate in March 2024, saying it was in the works long before Trump announced it.

Another company – Crusoe Energy Systems – announced last July that it was building a large “purpose-built AI data center” outside Abilene, Texas, at a site managed by the energy technology company Lancium.

Crusoe and Lancium said in a joint statement at the time that the project was “backed by a multibillion-dollar investment,” but did not disclose their backers.

The AI ​​technology requires huge amounts of electricity to build and operate and both companies said the project would be powered by renewable sources, such as nearby solar farms, in a way that they said Michael McNamara, CEO of Lancium, would “provide the maximum amount of green energy at one time.” lowest possible cost.

Crusoe said he would own and develop the facility.

It is unclear how and when this project became the first phase of the Stargate investment revealed by Trump.

(With contributions from AP, AFP)