Elon Musk claimed overnight on Tuesday that tech giants OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank don't have enough money to fulfill their high-profile pledge to invest $500 billion in US artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX made the comments just hours after President Donald Trump unveiled the massive project at the White House on his first full day in office.
“They actually don’t have the money,” Musk wrote in response to an OpenAI post on his social platform X about the new company, called the Stargate Project.
“SoftBank has secured significantly less than $10 billion. I have this on good authority,” Musk added in a subsequent post.
Musk is by far Trump's biggest donor in the 2024 election and is currently leading a major White House government efficiency effort.
On Wednesday morning, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded directly to Musk.
“I truly respect your achievements and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time,” Altman wrote on X.
But Musk's claim about SoftBank's liquidity was “false, as I'm sure you know,” Altman wrote in a follow-up post.
“I realize that what is great for the country is not always what is best for your company, but I hope you will do the most in your new role [American flag emoji] first,” he added.
OpenAI and Oracle did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Musk's claim. Softbank declined to comment.
Musk's post about Softbank was “far from reality,” according to a person familiar with the AI project who was granted anonymity to discuss the situation.
“There is no doubt” that Musk’s troubled relationship with Altman was the catalyst for his posts about Stargate, the person added.
Musk's comments undermined Trump's announcement Tuesday afternoon that Stargate would “invest at least $500 billion” and create “over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately.”
“I think it will be very special. It will lead to something that could be the greatest thing of all,” Trump said.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks accompanied by US President Donald Trump, Oracle CTO Larry Ellison (R) and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son (2nd R) during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 Washington, DC
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
During his speech, Trump was flanked by Altman, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son.
Ellison said at the event that there are already 10 data centers, each 500,000 square feet, under construction in Abilene, Texas, and 10 more are in the works.
CNBC has also learned that Trump spoke to Altman on the phone last week. Their “long” conversation focused on AI’s potential to improve people’s lives and the importance of building its infrastructure in the United States, not China.
Musk, who leads Trump's new Advisory Council on Government Efficiency, DOGE, has a strained relationship with Altman.
In March, Musk and his AI startup xAI sued OpenAI for breach of contract. Musk later dropped the lawsuit and sued Altman in federal court in August.
Altman's response to
“Maybe I'm wrong, but I firmly believe that Elon will do the right thing,” Altman said in December when asked if he was worried about how Musk might wield his influence in the White House.
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OpenAI said in Tuesday's statement on X that Stargate will “immediately begin deploying $100 billion.”
According to the post, Son will be chairman of the new company, whose initial investors include SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and UAE-based lender MGX.
News of the infrastructure initiative sent Oracle shares up 7% on Tuesday.
OpenAI's contribution is also listed Microsoft as one of its key initial technology partners at Stargate. The company announced in early January that it plans to invest $80 billion in AI-enabled data centers in the next fiscal year.
Asked about Stargate on CNBC's “Squawk Box” on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said: “I'm not particularly specific about what they're investing.”
Asked 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 contributed reporting
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