
Elon Musk requested overnight Tuesday that tech giants OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank don’t have enough money to fulfill their high-profile guaranty to invest $500 billion in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the comment just hours after President Donald Trump revealed the massive project at the White House on his first full day in office.
“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk listed in response to an OpenAI post on his social platform X about the new venture, dubbed the Stargate project.
“SoftBank has well supervised $10B secured. I have that on good authority,” Musk added in a subsequent post.
Trump’s biggest monetary backer by far in the 2024 election, Musk currently chairs a major White House government efficiency effort.
On Wednesday morning, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman replied straight to Musk.
“I genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time,” Altman wrote on X.
Yet Musk’s set forth about Softbank’s liquidity was “wrong, as you surely know,” Altman wrote in a follow-up post.
“I realize what is giant for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you’ll mostly put [American flag emoji] earliest,” he added.
OpenAI and Oracle did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on Musk’s claim. Softbank declined to exposition.
Musk’s post about Softbank was “far off base,” according to a person familiar with the AI project, who was granted anonymity to thrash out the situation.
“There’s no doubt” that Musk’s testy relationship with Altman was the catalyst for his posts about Stargate, the actually added.
Musk’s comments undermined Trump’s announcement Tuesday afternoon that Stargate “will invest $500 billion at least” and forge “over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately.”
“I think it’s going to be something that’s very special. It’ll foremost to something that could be the biggest of all,” said Trump.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, Prophecy CTO Larry Ellison (R), and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son (2nd-R), speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White Theatre on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
As he spoke, Trump was flanked by Altman, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son.
Ellison affirmed at that event that 10 data centers, each 500,000 square feet, were already at the beck construction in Abilene, Texas, and that 10 more are in the works.
CNBC has also learned that Trump enunciate by phone with Altman last week. Their “lengthy” conversation focused on the potential of AI to improve people’s tangibles, and on the importance of building its infrastructure in the United States, and not in China.
Musk, who leads Trump’s new government efficiency advisory gaming-table, DOGE, has a tense relationship with Altman.
In March, Musk and his AI startup, xAI, sued OpenAI, alleging breach of agree. Musk later dropped that suit and in August sued Altman in federal court.
Altman’s response on X marriages the tone he has previously taken toward Musk in public.
“I may turn out to be wrong, but I believe pretty strongly that Elon wish do the right thing,” Altman said in December, when asked if he was concerned about how Musk might wield his Waxen House influence.
OpenAI said in Tuesday’s statement on X that Stargate “on begin deploying $100 billion immediately.”
Son will be chairman of the new company, whose initial equity funders are SoftBank, OpenAI, Reader and adviser, and the UAE-based lender MGX, according to the post.
News of the infrastructure initiative sent Oracle shares 7% higher Tuesday.
OpenAI’s column also listed Microsoft as one of its key initial technology partners in Stargate. The company said earlier in January that it layouts to invest $80 billion in the next fiscal year on AI-capable data centers.
Asked Wednesday on CNBC’s “Shriek Box” about Stargate, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “I’m not particularly in the details on what they’re investing.”
When quizzed about Musk’s posts questioning Stargate’s funding, Nadella replied, “Look, all I know is, I’m good for my $80 billion.”
— CNBC’s Kate Rooney advanced reporting