Elon Musk has sparked controversy by questioning the financial backing of Project Stargate, a massive $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative announced by President Donald Trump. The project, a collaboration between OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and MGX, aims to build state-of-the-art data centers across the U.S. to support advanced AI systems, with an initial $100 billion to be deployed immediately. Musk, however, took to X to express his doubts, claiming SoftBank had secured "well under $10 billion" and suggesting that the project’s financial promises might not be solid. This criticism, coming from Musk—a former OpenAI co-founder and now one of its fiercest critics—has further fueled speculation about his ongoing feud with OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman.
The public reaction has been polarizing, with some siding with Musk, citing skepticism over the project's financial feasibility and SoftBank’s history with failed ventures like WeWork. Others have rallied behind Stargate's backers, arguing that the consortium’s combined assets and partnerships with tech giants like Arm, NVIDIA, and Microsoft ensure its credibility. Musk’s history with OpenAI, including his departure in 2018 and subsequent lawsuits accusing the company of betraying its nonprofit roots, has only added to the drama.
Whether Musk’s comments reflect legitimate concerns or personal vendettas, one thing is clear: Project Stargate represents a bold move for AI in the U.S., and its success or failure will be closely watched.
The public reaction has been polarizing, with some siding with Musk, citing skepticism over the project's financial feasibility and SoftBank’s history with failed ventures like WeWork. Others have rallied behind Stargate's backers, arguing that the consortium’s combined assets and partnerships with tech giants like Arm, NVIDIA, and Microsoft ensure its credibility. Musk’s history with OpenAI, including his departure in 2018 and subsequent lawsuits accusing the company of betraying its nonprofit roots, has only added to the drama.
Whether Musk’s comments reflect legitimate concerns or personal vendettas, one thing is clear: Project Stargate represents a bold move for AI in the U.S., and its success or failure will be closely watched.
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FunTranscript
00:00Elon Musk just slammed Project Stargate.
00:02Could this be his latest move in his feud with OpenAI?
00:05Or is there something shady going on with its funding?
00:08Let's break it down.
00:10Shortly after President Donald Trump announced the launch of Project Stargate, the world's
00:14largest AI infrastructure initiative, Elon Musk took to X to question the funding, stating
00:19they don't actually have the money.
00:22Musk continued his claims with a second comment that said SoftBank had secured well under
00:27$10 billion, casting doubt on the project's financial backing.
00:31His comments can be seen under the Stargate project announcement posted on X, which states
00:36the new company intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years, with $100 billion
00:42set to be deployed immediately.
00:45The public grabbed their popcorn to see how the Musk OpenAI drama would unfold, with one
00:49X user noting, Trump announced it, aren't you and Larry good friends?
00:53This is confusing, can you please elaborate?
00:56If you are also confused, let's go through a little backstory as Musk and OpenAI, along
01:01with CEO Sam Altman, have quite the history.
01:06First things first, Stargate is a groundbreaking joint venture involving OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank,
01:13and UAE-based investment firm MGX with plans to invest $500 billion over the next four
01:20years to develop AI infrastructures in the U.S.
01:24The project aims to build data centers capable of handling the immense processing demands
01:29of AI systems.
01:31Interestingly, Elon Musk, a prominent supporter and close ally of President Trump, and also
01:36former co-founder of OpenAI, has been left out of the project.
01:41Musk initially funded OpenAI when it launched in 2015, but left the organization in 2018
01:47and has since become one of its fiercest critics.
01:50I don't trust OpenAI.
01:51I started that company as a non-profit open source, now extremely closed source, and maximizing
01:59profit.
02:00In recent years, he's filed lawsuits against Altman and OpenAI, accusing them of violating
02:05agreements and betraying the company's original mission as a non-profit, according to the
02:09New York Times.
02:10The Los Angeles Time, however, reports that OpenAI says Musk was touting a revisionist
02:16history and called his legal claims incoherent.
02:20The online community was quick to react to Musk calling out Stargate funding, while some
02:25sided with Musk, with one fan writing, only Papa Elon has money like that.
02:31Others have come to the defense of the project's backers, posting, they do in fact have the
02:36money, listing their alleged assets and revenue stream worth.
02:40While another stated, Altman is a known bad actor, and OpenAI's balance sheet is anemic,
02:46and Mr. Softbank lost billions in the WeWork scam, making it questionable that they can
02:51raise huge sums necessary.
02:53The debate continues, but one thing is clear, Project Stargate is a big leap for AI, especially
02:59in the US.
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