President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday of a $500 billion investment into artificial intelligence infrastructure was quickly upended by a controversial administration official worth nearly that amount.
The company OpenAI confirmed on Trump adviser Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, that it was investing the money over the next four years into the Stargate Project, with $100 billion being deployed immediately.
“It’s big money and high-quality people,” Trump said during the announcement, calling it “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential.” Standing beside him: Musk’s nemesis, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Musk, worth a reported $426 billion, clearly took notice. In successive posts on X, the head of the president’s new Department of Government Efficiency openly challenged Trump’s assertion, writing that OpenAI, the maker of the AI chatbot ChatGPT, doesn’t “actually have the money.”
“SoftBank has well under $10B secured,” Musk added. “I have that on good authority.”
The feud between the tech titans is nothing new. Musk pulled out of OpenAI in 2018 and has since derided Altman as “Swindly Sam” while suing the organization over its shift from nonprofit roots. Altman, in turn, has labeled Musk a “bully.”
Industry insiders have long speculated that Musk might leverage his influence with Trump to sideline Altman from securing lucrative government contracts.
“I don’t think we should over-read it, but certainly all the reports suggesting Musk could keep Altman away from Trump were disproven yesterday in that press conference,” said Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough. “When I saw it, I was like, ‘Whoa – that’s news.’”
Apparently, Musk forgot that with Trump, loyalty runs wallet-deep.
Despite his technological prowess, Musk seems to be falling behind in AI innovation. OpenAI announced in June a partnership with Apple for its AI tools, while Apple has also teamed up with IBM’s AI, known as Watson.
On Wednesday, Altman challenged Musk to put America first.
“This is great for the country,” Altman said of the new initiative. “I realize what’s 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,” he added, using an American flag emoji.
More troubling for Musk might be how this impacts his relationship with Trump, who is reportedly growing frustrated with the Tesla founder’s constant presence.
“I think it’s less about Sam Altman and more about Donald Trump saying, ‘I’m the daddy here, there’s only one president,’” observed MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle. “Over the last few weeks, as Elon Musk has been glued to Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago and preparing for a potential office near the White House, this might be Trump’s way of putting Musk on notice. He’s saying to the world, ‘There are no co-presidents. I’m the only one in charge – don’t get too comfortable, Elon. Sam’s still in the picture.’”
