President Trump stood alongside prominent tech executives at the White House on Tuesday to unveil what he called a “tremendous” and “monumental” $500 billion artificial-intelligence infrastructure project . Hours later, Elon Musk publicly raised questions about whether the joint venture would ever get off the ground.
Late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, Musk wrote on X, his social-media platform, that two of the companies behind the project don’t have enough capital to follow through on their pledges.
The comments offered a glimpse into the sometimes awkward dynamic between the new president and Musk, the billionaire who Trump has tasked with slashing government spending and streamlining federal bureaucracy. And they signaled that Musk won’t pare back his unfiltered online commentary now that Trump has taken office.
“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote at 11:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday, replying to a post from OpenAI , the ChatGPT maker that announced the joint venture with global tech investor SoftBank Group and database company Oracle . At 12:57 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Musk added, “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”
The White House and the companies didn’t respond to requests for comment about Musk’s social-media posts. The project will build infrastructure including data centers.
Musk’s comments about the $500 billion project known as Stargate come amid longstanding tensions between the Tesla chief executive and Sam Altman , OpenAI’s CEO. Musk has sued to block OpenAI ’s attempt to convert from a nonprofit to a for-profit company, calling it a “market-paralyzing gorgon.” Though they co-founded OpenAI, Musk later left, and people close to Musk have said he now despises Altman , The Wall Street Journal has previously reported. Musk more recently started his own artificial intelligence company , xAI, which competes with OpenAI.
“i genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time,” Altman initially wrote on X on Wednesday in response to Musk’s post.
Altman later posted that Musk’s comments about SoftBank’s funding were wrong, adding that the first site is already under way. “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 [America] first.”
Microsoft , OpenAI’s largest investor, was named a “technology partner” in the project, meaning the company will be involved in creating Stargate’s infrastructure. “Look, all I know is, I’m good for my $80 billion,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNBC when asked about Musk’s social-media posts.
The companies behind Stargate didn’t disclose how much cash each partner would contribute, or precisely where all the funds would come from. Stargate plans to bring on additional equity investors, the Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. SoftBank is also planning to raise debt from third parties to pay for Stargate’s projects.
OpenAI has raised billions of dollars, but still loses money. Oracle has about $11 billion in cash and marketable securities but more in debt. SoftBank has roughly $30 billion of cash on hand.
Musk’s comments marked the first time he has raised questions about a Trump-led initiative since the president put him in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s panel will be based in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, a short walk from the White House. Musk has said DOGE will aim to cut up to $2 trillion in government spending, though he has described that figure as a best-case outcome.
But it isn’t the only time Musk has publicly weighed in on one of Trump’s decisions. After the election, Musk threw his support behind transition co-chair Howard Lutnick to be Treasury secretary over longtime investor Scott Bessent . Musk’s comments came as Lutnick, Bessent and their allies were battling over who should be chosen for the crucial job. Trump eventually picked Bessent to run the Treasury and Lutnick got the nod for Commerce secretary.
Write to Brian Schwartz at brian.schwartz@wsj.com+