United States President Donald Trump on Thursday brushed off criticism from Tesla CEO Elon Musk regarding the $500 billion artificial intelligence initiative, Stargate, which was unveiled earlier this week.
The ambitious project is a joint venture involving OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle and is set to construct data centres while creating over 100,000 jobs across the United States.
Trump announced the Stargate initiative during a White House event on Tuesday, flanked by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison. However, Musk, who has been a key Trump ally and a rival of Altman, raised doubts about the financial feasibility of the venture.
In a post on X, Musk questioned whether the consortium had secured adequate funding for the project. “They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote. “SoftBank has well under $10 billion secured. I have that on good authority.”
When asked about Musk’s remarks during a White House press briefing on Thursday, Trump downplayed the criticism, attributing it to Musk’s rivalry with Altman.
“It doesn’t [bother me]. He hates one of the people in the deal,” Trump said. “The people in the deal are very, very smart. But Elon—one of the people he happens to hate. I have certain hatreds of people, too.”
Addressing Musk’s claim of insufficient funding, Trump said, “I don’t know if they do [have the money], but they’re putting up the money. The government’s not putting up anything. They’re very rich people, so I hope they do.”
The exchange has fuelled speculation about a potential rift between Trump and Musk, who has been a key advisor to the President and currently leads Trump’s government efficiency initiative.
An anonymous Trump adviser expressed concerns about the relationship, stating, “The end may be in sight,” suggesting the alliance may be under strain.
Despite Musk’s doubts, the Stargate project marks a significant step in Trump’s agenda to establish the United States as a leader in artificial intelligence. The initiative aims to leverage the expertise of its partners to build cutting-edge infrastructure and advance AI technology on a global scale.