SpaceX founder and Donald Trump superfriend Elon Musk unleashed a shocking attack on a multibillion-dollar company that the president touted on his first full day in the White House — setting up a battle of billionaires in Trump's orbit.
The blast of Trump's new head of the Department of Government Efficiency came as Trump brought OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman to the White House, along with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and the head of Softbank to tout massive AI investments in the US that they said they would total $500 billion. .
Musk didn't believe in the splashy rollout.
“They don't actually have the money,” he wrote on X about the project, which Trump said would be called Stargate, sharing the name of a 1990s science fiction film.
'SoftBank has secured more than $10 billion. I got that from a good source,” Musk later wrote.
Altman immediately hit back at his fellow billionaire. He told Musk he was “wrong, as I'm sure you know,” when he posted on Musk's X site. (Altman's wealth is estimated at $1 billion at age 39. Musk is worth 400 times that, according to Bloomberg, with his wealth skyrocketing after the election of Donald Trump, another billionaire).
Then Altman asked, “Would you like to come visit the first location that's already underway?” He added: “This is great for the country. I realize that what is good for the country is not always optimal for your companies, but I hope that in your new role especially [America] first,” using an American flag emoji.
Musk also retweeted investor Gavin Baker, who added up the connected companies' financial positions and concluded they had “nowhere near $500 billion.”
Billionaire Elon Musk didn't believe the statements of a new White House investment cohort that said they would pour $500 billion into AI projects
“Everyone should just start issuing press releases about $1 trillion AI projects,” he wrote dismissively.
Musk's comments directly undermined a move by Trump: standing shoulder to shoulder with high-level executives who help his own political results. Some such projects have collapsed, such as Foxconn which planned $10 billion in investments in Wisconsin during his first term, which Trump said would create 13,000 jobs. Instead, the company largely abandoned its plans.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that the American people “must accept President Trump and the CEOs' words to that effect.”
“These investments are coming to our great country and American jobs are coming with them,” she said.
There is ongoing speculation about the sustainability of Trump's relationship with Musk.
Musk was a regular at Mar-a-Lago and stood by Trump's side at key moments and was prominently present during his inauguration.
But Trump has long resented having to share the spotlight. Press statements, such as a New Yorker cover showing Musk taking over the Oval Office, are unlikely to help the situation for the billionaire whose net worth has skyrocketed since helping propel Trump's victory.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was at the White House to tout the investments
Musk immediately questioned the promise
He cited “good authority” that Japanese-run SoftBank was undercapitalized for the move
Altman hit back at X
He'll likely get a West Wing office, which gives Prime Minister access to Trump, even though his team trying to cut $2 trillion in government cuts has itself grown to 20 people and now works inside the White House, rather than outside, as announced.
Trump's first set of executive orders, renamed the United States Digital Service, is hereby publicly renamed the United States DOGE Service (USDS). It sets up a 'temporary' organization and ensures that each agency has a DOGE team, including a team leader, an engineer, an HR person and a lawyer.
Trump's announced cohead, Vivek Ramaswamy, has already stepped back, with plans to run for governor for an office that won't be vacant until next year.
“We will immediately begin deploying $100 billion. This infrastructure will secure U.S. leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate tremendous economic benefits for the entire world,” said an OpenAI announcement about the Stargate project.
“This project will not only support the reindustrialization of the United States, but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies,” the report said.
