Clash Of Tech Titans: Elon Musk, Sam Altman In Public Word War Over Stargate

Tech executives Elon Musk and Sam Altman have taken their years-long feud to a new level Wednesday after the Tesla CEO publicly declared that Stargate doesn't have the funds to operate its $500 billion AI infrastructure vision.

OpenAI's CEO soon responded, criticizing Musk for being "wrong" in his assumptions over the massive AI project's funding.

Elon Musk Draws First Blood

AI giant OpenAI, along with Japanese investment holding titan SoftBank and cloud leader Oracle, are working on a huge AI infrastructure project called Stargate that U.S. President Donald Trump said should put the country in pole position in the global race for AI dominance.

OpenAI released a statement Tuesday about the project, saying Stargate looks to invest a staggering $500 billion into building new AI infrastructure in the country. The AI company said it will begin deploying $100 billion "immediately" for the project.

"They don't actually have the money," Musk wrote in the comments section of Stargate's X statement. He soon followed up with another statement, saying SoftBank, known for its huge investments in startups over the years, "has well under $10B secured" for Stargate.

By Wednesday, it appears Altman has had enough of the clamor, as many X users were starting to agree with Musk that maybe Stargate won't be able to accomplish its staggering funding goal.

Other X users also brought up the issue around an OpenAI whistleblower and former employee who accused the company of violating copyright laws, but whose sudden death about a month after his accusations first emerged was questioned by his family and supporters.

Sam Altman Calls Out Musk's 'Wrong' Assumptions

"Wrong, as you sure know," Altman said in response to Musk. He also challenged the SpaceX founder to visit Stargate's first site. Altman said construction is already underway for the first Stargate location.

Altman went on to say that the project is beneficial for the country, even if it may not work best for Musk's companies.

"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 [American flag emoji] first," Altman concluded.

While Musk has yet to respond directly to Altman's rebuttal, he did re-post a video of Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella speaking about the computer giant's pledge to invest $80 billion in AI data centers – $50 billion of which will be allocated to U.S.-based data centers.

"On the other hand, Satya definitely does have the money," Musk wrote along with the video.

The xAI founder also re-posted DogeDesigner's post, wherein he hailed Musk's role in creating OpenAI. DogeDesigner, a prominent figure in the crypto space, said Altman "transformed this open-source non-profit company into a closed-source, for-profit company."

Musk and Altman: A Bitter History of Trust and 'Betrayal'

Before Wednesday's back-and-forth between the two tech leaders, Musk and Altman were allies, considering Musk was an early investor and former board member of OpenAI.

Musk has said he had full support for OpenAI's model in the beginning, as he believed it would be a non-profit organization that would benefit the public through its research on AI innovations. However, he is vehemently against OpenAI's bid to become a for-profit business and ultimately left the board in 2018.

In December, the tech expert filed a preliminary injunction to block OpenAI from transitioning into a for-profit company.

Notably, Musk has an AI venture of his own, xAI, which could grow into a competitor of OpenAI and other leading AI firms.

Stargate has been fully embraced by the president, which potentially puts Musk in a tight spot, being one of Trump's closest supporters during his campaign, and is set to lead the now-official Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).