Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is in heated conflict with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, over the Stargate AI infrastructure project backed by President Donald Trump, which promises up to $500 billion in investment .
The initiative, involving OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank, aims to build critical data centers and power infrastructure to accelerate the development of cutting-edge AI technology.
Trump called it a “powerful statement of confidence in America’s future” under his new administration, with an initial private investment of $100 billion that could be increased fivefold.
However, Elon Musk, a close aide to Donald Trump who also helped finance his campaign and is now leading a government cost-cutting initiative, expressed doubts about the investment after the announcement.
In what appears to be a recent dig at Elon Musk on Wednesday (US time), Sam Altman criticized the frequent negativity on social media, tweeting: “One more mean tweet and maybe you’ll like yourself.” »
Earlier, Elon Musk posted on his social media platform SoftBank has secured well under $10 billion. I have it on good authority.
Sam Altman disagreed with Musk’s comments, saying he was “wrong, as I’m sure you know,” and invited him to visit the Texas construction site.
Altman added that the project is good for the country and urged Musk to put America first in his new role.
What is behind the feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman?
The disagreement over Stargate is part of a long-running feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, which began with a boardroom battle for leadership of OpenAI, the organization they both co-founded , according to the Associated Press.
Musk, an early investor and board member of OpenAI, sued Altman’s company last year, accusing it of betraying his nonprofit research goals and focus on profit.
The conflict escalated with Musk adding new claims and seeking a court order to stop OpenAI’s transition to a fully for-profit entity. A hearing is scheduled for early February in California federal court.
As the world’s richest man, Musk, who runs Tesla, SpaceX and X, last year launched his own AI rival, xAI, which is building a massive data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
