Trump defends $500b AI deal amid Musk’s criticism

Former President Donald Trump dismissed Elon Musk’s criticism of a $500 billion AI infrastructure project announced earlier this week, attributing the remarks to personal animosity between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump downplayed Musk’s doubts about the project’s funding, calling it a matter of “bad blood” rather than a legitimate concern.

“No, he hates one of the people,” Trump said, referencing Altman. “I’ve spoken to Elon—spoken to all of them, actually. The people in the deal are very, very smart, but Elon happens to hate one of them. But I have certain hatreds of people too.”

The ambitious project, dubbed Stargate, was unveiled Tuesday with leaders from OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank standing beside Trump. The plan involves an initial $100 billion investment from the companies, with a total of $500 billion to be funneled into the initiative over time. Musk, however, cast doubt on the announcement, claiming on his social media platform X, “They don’t actually have the money. SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”

When pressed about Musk’s remarks, Trump maintained confidence in the deal. “I don’t know if they do [have the money], but, you know, they’re putting up the money—the government’s not putting up anything. They’re very rich people, so I hope they do,” Trump said.

Musk’s comments came against the backdrop of his ongoing legal battle with OpenAI, which he accuses of abandoning its nonprofit roots in favor of prioritizing private customers. The tension between Musk and Altman has spilled over into public exchanges on X, with Musk sharing Altman’s past critical remarks about Trump.

Despite Musk’s involvement in high-profile White House activities, including a pardon for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and advocacy for January 6 rioters, his sharp critique of Stargate has raised eyebrows. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed Musk’s skepticism, telling Fox News, “The American people should take President Trump and those CEOs’ words for it.”

The companies behind Stargate have not disclosed detailed funding plans but may raise debt or seek additional equity investors to meet the financial goals. Regardless, Trump’s confidence in the project appears unshaken by Musk’s critique, with the former president signaling that the initiative is moving forward.