Elon Spats Publicly With Altman As Trump Backs AI Venture
India-West News Desk
WASHINGTON, DC – In a major move for the AI industry, President Donald Trump, alongside leaders from OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and the Emirati AI investor MGX, spoke of the initiative called Stargate. The project involves an ambitious $500 billion investment to build AI data centers across the United States, with an up-front commitment of $100 billion from the involved companies.
Fortune noted that the Stargate announcement bolsters Trump’s image as a champion of infrastructure development, a legacy he struggled to establish during his first term. The initiative actually follows a move by outgoing President Joe Biden, who issued an executive order to identify federal lands for new AI data centers, including priority geothermal zones for expedited permitting. Trump, however, rescinded Biden’s order on AI safety but has yet to reverse Biden’s infrastructure plan.
If successful, it has the potential to cement the U.S.’s position at the forefront of the AI sector, and Trump touted that it could create 100,000 new jobs, many likely linked to the construction of these centers. The announcement was made on January 22, with Altman praising Trump’s role at the White House event, calling the initiative “the most important project of this era.”
Fortune reported that this announcement has put Sam Altman in the spotlight, much to the frustration of his former collaborator, Elon Musk. Musk, who has long been a major backer of Trump, was once close with Altman when they co-founded OpenAI in 2015. However, their relationship has soured over time, evolving into a fierce rivalry.
With Musk’s proximity to Trump—having bankrolled the president’s campaign and now heading the Department of Government Efficiency—there were concerns that Musk would leverage his political influence to elevate his own venture, xAI, over OpenAI.
As the prime beneficiary of the project, Altman made his position clear, stating, “We wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr. President” at the event. Musk, meanwhile, was quick to criticize the venture, openly casting doubt on the financial backing of the project and claiming that SoftBank has secured far less than $10 billion in a tweet.
Altman, not one to back down, responded with a tweet on January 23, countering Musk’s assertions: “Wrong, as you surely know,” he wrote. “Want to come visit the first site already under way? This is great for the country. 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.”
