Announced earlier this week, OpenAI pledged to invest a whopping $500 billion in AI infrastructure with support from SoftBank, Microsoft, Oracle, and MGX.
Musk went on the offensive on X (formerly Twitter), claiming the wealthiest startup in the world, in reality, can’t afford to honour its pledge, adding: “SoftBank has well under $10 billion secured. I have that on good authority.”
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Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI hit back at Musk, saying he was “wrong” and invited him to the first Stargate site which is being built in Texas.
“This is great for the country,” Altman said. “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 🇺🇸 first.”
The X spat is the latest in a long-running feud between Musk and OpenAI, culminating in a series of existential lawsuits over alleged breach of contract and claims of “anticompetitive conduct”.
Altman’s hit back at Musk comes as the X, Tesla, and xAI billionaire has taken a central role in the new Trump administration as part of DOGE.
It was President Trump, however, who unveiled the project at a ceremony in the White House with Altman and CEOs, including SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, who will serve as Stargate’s chair.
Trump called Stargate “the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history” and that it will create more than 100,000 jobs “almost immediately”.
“This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential under a new President and will ensure the future of technology [in the US],” President Trump said.
Trump said he would support the project through his National Energy Emergency Declaration which would ramp up energy production, including fossil fuels.
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