Elon Musk claimed overnight Tuesday that tech giants OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank do not have enough money to fulfill their high-profile promise to invest $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the comment just hours after President Donald Trump unveiled the massive project at the White House on his first full day in office.
“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote in response to a post by OpenAI on his social platform X about the new venture, called the Stargate project.
“SoftBank has less than $10 billion insured. “I know it firsthand,” added Musk.
On Wednesday morning, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded directly to Musk.
“I truly respect your accomplishments and believe you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time,” Altman wrote. He did not address Musk’s allegation about Stargate funding.
Softbank, OpenAI and Oracle did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on Musk’s claim.
Musk’s comments undercut Trump’s announcement Tuesday afternoon that Stargate will “invest at least $500 billion” and create “more than 100,000 American jobs almost immediately.”
“I think it will be something very special. It will lead to something that could be the biggest of all,” Trump said.
As he spoke, Trump was flanked by Altman, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son.
Ellison said at that event that 10 data centers, each 500,000 square feet, were already under construction in Abilene, Texas, and 10 more are in the works.
Musk, who heads Trump’s new government efficiency advisory council, DOGE, has a strained relationship with Altman.
In March, Musk and his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, sued OpenAI, alleging breach of contract. Musk later dropped that suit and sued Altman in federal court.
Altman’s response about X matches the tone he has previously taken toward Musk in public.
“I may be wrong, but I firmly believe that Elon will do the right thing,” Altman said in December, when asked if he was concerned about how Musk might exert his influence in the White House.
OpenAI said in Tuesday’s X statement that Stargate “will begin deploying $100 billion immediately.”
Son will be chairman of the new company, whose initial equity backers are SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and UAE-based lender MGX, according to the publication.
News of the infrastructure initiative sent Oracle shares up 7% on Tuesday.
OpenAI’s publication also lists Microsoft as one of its key initial technology partners on Stargate. The company said earlier this month that it plans to invest $80 billion in the next fiscal year in AI-enabled data centers.
When asked Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” about Stargate, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “I’m not particularly into the details about what they’re investing in.”
When asked about Musk’s posts questioning Stargate’s funding, Nadella responded: “Look, all I know is that I’m fine with my $80 billion.”
