President Trump and a host of tech leaders (Softbank's Masayoshi SonSam Altman of OpenAI, and The burdenLarry Ellison) joined to announce “Stargate” on Tuesday, a AI mega-project which includes a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure to build data centers in the US
“Stargate will build the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of AI advances.” Trump said in the announcement. “And that will involve building colossal data centers.”
One tech titan who wasn't part of the unveiling was Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, though he made his voice heard.
In a series of late night posts on X in response to OpenAI, the new The leader of the DOGE criticized the plan and claimed the funding isn't really there.
They actually have no money
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 22, 2025
“They actually have no money,” Musk wrote, adding in a next post that he has it “on good authority” that “SoftBank has under $10 billion secured.”
Altman, who co-founded OpenAI with Elon Musk (before leaving the company in 2018), answered that Musk is “wrong” and then invited him to see the site while it's under way, 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 understand that what's 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 promoted the plan during his announcement on Tuesday.
“I think it's going to be something that's very special. It's going to 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 co-founders of OpenAI, accusing the company of breaching its founding agreement.
Since then, there has been a lot of back and forth – both in the courts and on social media.