Elon Musk and Sam Altman Clash Over $500 Billion Stargate AI Plan Touted By Trump: 'Don't Have the Money' The two tech billionaires argued on X over the massive new AI project.
By Erin Davis
President Trump and a host of tech leaders (Softbank's Masayoshi Son, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Oracle's Larry Ellison) teamed up to announce "Stargate" on Tuesday, an AI mega-project that includes a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure to build data centers in the U.S.
"Stargate will be building the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of advancements in AI," Trump said at the announcement. "And this will include the construction of colossal data centers."
One tech titan who wasn't a part of the reveal was Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk—though he did make his voice heard.
In a series of late-night posts on X responding to OpenAI, the new DOGE leader criticized the plan and claimed the funding isn't really there.
They don't actually have the money
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 22, 2025
"They don't actually have the money," Musk wrote, adding in a follow-up post that he has it "on good authority" that "SoftBank has well under $10B secured."
Altman, who cofounded OpenAI with Elon Musk (before he left the company in 2018), responded that Musk is "wrong" and then invited him to see the site when it is underway, as the first data center is being built in Texas, where Musk's companies are based.
"This is great for the country," Altman wrote. "I realize 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 [America] first."
Related: Elon Musk Accuses ChatGPT-Maker OpenAI of Being a 'Market-Paralyzing Gorgon': Lawsuit
Trump touted the plan during his announcement Tuesday.
"I think it's going to be something that's very special. It'll lead to something that could be the biggest of all," Trump said.
Musk and Altman have been trading insults for some time. In March 2024, Musk sued Altman and other OpenAI cofounders, accusing the company of breaking its founding agreement.
Since then, there's been lots of back and forth— both in the courts and on social media.
