Elon Musk has publicly questioned the current administration, questioning President Trump's announcement of his first major technology investment.
On Tuesday, Trump announced a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle to build at least $100 billion in computing infrastructure to power artificial intelligence, some of which is already underway.
But in two late-night messages about X, Musk said the venture, called Stargate, did not have the funds to achieve the promised level of investment.
In response to OpenAI's post about the announcement, Musk said, “They don't have the funds. SoftBank's secured funding is well below $10 billion. I am aware of that on a legitimate basis. ” he wrote.
The firing by Musk, one of Trump's top aides who leads a government agency created to cut the nation's budget, marked one of his first public breaks with the administration. It is also an unusual move for a high-ranking policy official to question a plan trumpeted by the president.
Trump touted the AI announcement as an early trophy and credited companies' decision to spend up to $500 billion building data centers (huge buildings filled with servers that provide computing power) did. Mr. Trump has vowed to clear regulatory hurdles for AI development and make the United States the world leader in the technology, beating China.
“Americans should take President Trump and his CEOs at their word,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday. “These investments are coming to our great country, and American jobs are coming with them.”
Stargate already has $100 billion in assets, according to two people familiar with the company. Funding was provided by SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and AI-focused UAE investment group MGX.
(The New York Times sued OpenAI and its partner Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement of news content related to the AI system. Both companies denied the lawsuit's allegations.)
Musk is competing with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk, who helped found the company, sued OpenAI and Altman for antitrust violations.
Musk founded a rival company called xAI in 2023, well after the tech boom that included the debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT. The startup recently raised $6 billion in funding.
Altman appealed to X on Wednesday morning to refute Musk's claims.
Mr. Altman wrote, “It's a mistake, and you know it.” “Would you like to come and visit the first site that has already started?”
Musk and Trump have grown close over the past few months after the tech mogul announced his support for the president's campaign, ultimately donating more than $250 million to support his candidacy. . Mr. Musk, the world's richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires, has become a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump, using a megaphone on his social media company, X.
Mr. Musk is also the chief executive officer of Tesla and rocket company SpaceX.
“Elon Musk is no stranger to conflicts of interest,” said Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. “Throughout history people have tried to influence governments, but what makes him so unique is his close friendship with Donald Trump and his commitment to government contracts, taxes, and other public policy.” The breadth of his business is influenced by.”
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During the presidential transition period, Mr. Musk has settled into a cottage in Mar-a-Lago with easy access to planning meetings. He has been close to Trump, accompanying him to SpaceX rocket launches, attending Trump's New Year's Eve party and sitting with other tech moguls at Monday's inauguration. always exists.
On Wednesday, Musk reposted a comment from a tech investor who reiterated his claim that there wasn't enough money for the Stargate project. “Stargate is a great name, but the $500 billion number is ridiculous,” Gavin Baker, managing partner and chief investment officer at Atreides Management, said in a post, unless SoftBank intends to sell certain assets. “These are numbers that no one should take seriously.” .
