US President Donald Trump brushed aside criticism from Tesla CEO Elon Musk about the recently announced $500 billion artificial intelligence project, “Stargate”. Speaking at a White House press conference on January 23, Trump dismissed Musk’s remarks, saying: “It doesn't. He hates one of the people in the deal. People in the deal are very, very smart people. But, Elon, one of the people he happens to hate. I have certain hatreds of people, too.”
The Stargate initiative, unveiled on January 21, is a collaboration between OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. The project is expected to build data centres and create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison joined Trump at the White House to launch the venture.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close adviser to Donald Trump, raised doubts about the project's funding in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 22. Musk, who is involved in an ongoing lawsuit with OpenAI and has a strained relationship with its CEO, Sam Altman, claimed: “They don’t actually have the money. SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”
Sam Altman swiftly countered Musk’s scepticism, defending the project’s progress and goals. In a direct reply, he tweeted:
“Wrong, as you surely know. Want to come visit the first site already under way? This is great 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 🇺🇸 first.”
Altman followed up with praise for Musk, despite their differences, stating: “I genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time.”
Trump also dismissed Musk’s concerns about financing, stating: “I don’t know if they do, but you know, they’re putting up the money. The government’s not putting up anything; they’re putting up money. They’re very rich people, so I hope they do.”
On Tuesday (January 21), Donald Trump announced a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to develop infrastructure for artificial intelligence, an effort aimed at positioning the United States ahead of global competitors in this critical technology.
The initiative, a joint venture named “Stargate”, involves OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle as key partners. According to Trump, the project will construct data centres across the United States and create over 100,000 jobs. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison joined Trump at the White House for the announcement.
Equity backers of Stargate have committed $100 billion for immediate deployment, with the remaining funds expected to be invested over the next four years. Trump emphasised that this is a private-sector-driven initiative with no government funding involved.
At the press conference, Ellison revealed that the first of the data centres, spanning half a million square feet each, is already under construction in Texas. A total of 20 such centres are planned. Ellison added that the infrastructure could power advanced AI applications, including analyzing electronic health records to assist doctors in improving patient care.
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