In a dramatic turn of events, Elon Musk took to X to criticize Sam Altman after President Donald Trump announced a new joint venture involving Altman’s OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. The project, named Stargate, is a $500 billion AI-infrastructure investment aimed at building artificial general intelligence (AGI) in the United States.
Musk, known for his outspoken nature, was quick to express his doubts about the financial backing of the Stargate project. “They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote in an X post on Tuesday night, responding to OpenAI’s claim that it would “begin deploying $100 billion immediately” as part of Stargate. Musk further asserted, “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority,” without providing evidence to support his claim.
Altman, CEO of OpenAI, initially extended an olive branch to Musk, acknowledging his accomplishments and calling him “the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time.” However, Altman soon countered Musk’s claims, stating that Musk was wrong about Stargate’s financial capital. He invited Musk to visit Stargate’s first infrastructure site, emphasizing the project’s benefits for the country. “I realize 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 America first,” Altman wrote. Musk did not respond directly to Altman’s comments. Instead, he shared an X post by Altman from December 2021, in which Altman thanked LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman for helping to stop Trump from being reelected in 2020.
Altman, who attended Trump’s inauguration on January 20, has since adopted a more conciliatory tone towards the Trump administration. On Wednesday night, Altman posted on X that he had changed his mind about Trump after watching the president “more carefully recently.” He added, “I’m not going to agree with him on everything, but I think he will be incredible for the country in many ways!”.
The History of Musk and Altman’s Rivalry
The public exchanges between Musk and Altman are not surprising, given their tense relationship. Musk cofounded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 but left the board in 2018. Since then, Musk has been a vocal critic of the ChatGPT maker and has pursued his own AI ventures at Tesla and his AI startup, xAI. In February, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing it of violating its nonprofit mission by partnering with Microsoft. Although the lawsuit was withdrawn in June, Musk refiled it in August. In November, Musk’s lawyers filed an injunction against OpenAI to stop its conversion into a for-profit entity.
Despite the ongoing feud, the Stargate project represents a significant investment in AI infrastructure. Announced by President Trump, the project aims to build data centers and electricity generation needed for the development of fast-evolving AI technology. The initial private investment of $100 billion could reach up to $500 billion. Altman remains optimistic about the project’s potential, while Musk continues to question its financial viability. As the two tech titans clash, the future of Stargate and its impact on the AI landscape remains uncertain.