Godsent Ogbebor
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, cast doubt on a $500 billion artificial intelligence (AI) project announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, claiming the promised funding for the initiative was not actually available.
In his first full day in office, President Trump announced a partnership involving Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and OpenAI, creators of ChatGPT, to launch a major AI infrastructure project, dubbed Stargate. Trump stated that the venture would invest at least $500 billion into AI infrastructure in the U.S.
However, in a post on his social media platform X, Musk questioned the feasibility of the funding. He stated that the primary investors “don’t actually have the money,” adding that SoftBank had less than $10 billion secured, according to “good authority.”
This marked a rare public divergence between Musk and Trump, who have previously been allies. Musk had played a significant role in supporting Trump during his election campaign, investing $270 million.
Musk’s comments also appeared to target OpenAI, the AI startup that Musk helped found before stepping down in 2018. Musk and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, who was present at the White House announcement, have been embroiled in a bitter feud, with Musk having filed multiple lawsuits against the company.
Altman responded to Musk’s criticism on X, saying, “Wrong, as you surely know. Want to come to visit the first site already underway?” He added, “This is great for the country… but in your new role, I hope you’ll mostly put (country) first.”
OpenAI, one of the world’s highest-valued startups, has struggled with high operational costs despite its leading position in the AI sector.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Oracle, which is also involved in the project, holds about $11 billion in cash and securities, while SoftBank has approximately $30 billion in cash. Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, defended the project, asserting, “These investments are coming to our great country and American jobs are coming along with them.”
The Stargate initiative is set to begin with an initial $100 billion investment, with plans to reach $500 billion over the next four years. Partners include Abu Dhabi’s AI-focused state fund, MGX, and technology companies such as Arm (owned by SoftBank), Microsoft, and Nvidia. The project is also building a data center in Texas, with construction already underway.
While SoftBank declined to comment on Musk’s remarks, the company stated that it would begin deploying $100 billion for the project immediately.
Musk’s skepticism comes amid ongoing negotiations and differing reports on the investment distribution. According to Bloomberg, SoftBank and OpenAI plan to contribute $19 billion each to Stargate, with Oracle and MGX adding about $7 billion apiece.
SoftBank’s founder, Masayoshi Son, had previously committed $50 billion in investments for the U.S. under Trump’s administration, which he later doubled to $100 billion, promising to generate 100,000 American jobs.
