In a recent turn of events, President Trump responded to Elon Musk's critique of his AI announcement with a casual dismissal, stating, "He hates one of the people."
Musk tossed a wrench into Trump's Tuesday Oval Office announcement about an AI social media platform, raising concerns over the financial capability of the participating companies. But during a White House press conference on Thursday, Trump defended his colleague, stating that Musk's gripes were due to bad blood toward one of the deal's participants, not a reflection of the project's viability.
Trump said, "Yeah, he hates one of the people," in apparent reference to Altman. "I've spoken to Elon, but—spoken to all of them, actually. The people in the deal are very, very smart people– but Elon, one of the people he happens to hate. But I have certain hatreds of people too."
Musk immediately hit back on his social media platform X, casting doubt on the funding by claiming that SoftBank, one of the project's backers, only had "well under $10B secured." Trump didn't seem too concerned, telling reporters, "I don't know if they do, but you know, they're putting up the money– the government's not putting up anything, they're putting up money. They're very rich people, so I hope they do."
Trump announced the creation of Stargate, a new company to boost American AI infrastructure, with the support of OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. These giants have pledged a grand total of $100 billion for the project, with plans to potentially pump up to $500 billion into Stargate in the future.
Following the announcement, Musk and Altman engaged in a heated online exchange, with Musk, who's involved in a lawsuit with OpenAI, sharing pre-existing criticisms of Trump on his X page. When asked about Musk's public attacks, Trump remained nonchalant on Thursday.
Sour grapes
Musk's criticism marked a notable blow to a significant White House initiative from someone close to the administration. Musk, a vocal presence during the early days of the Trump administration, was there in the Oval Office when Trump pardoned Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web marketplace SilkRoad. Musk also sent a top aide from SpaceX and X companies to help secure the release of convicted January 6 rioters after Trump issued a blanket pardon.
However, it's not surprising to see Musk challenging an OpenAI initiative, given his ongoing legal dispute with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who was present at the White House announcement. Musk, who doesn't trust Altman, alleges in the lawsuit that ChatGPT has deviated from its original nonprofit mission by reserving advanced AI technology for private customers.
Despite Musk's claims about the insufficient funding for Stargate, the project's backers haven't disclosed their financial commitments yet. However, they could potentially secure debt or attract additional investors to support the project without having the funds in hand.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed Musk's doubts, advising people to believe Trump and the project's leaders rather than Musk's allegations.
CNN’s Hadas Gold contributed to this report
Enrichment Data:- Project Stargate: The Stargate project, a collaboration between OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, aims to build data centers and create over 100,000 jobs in the United States.- Musk's Criticism: Musk, an OpenAI rival and legal adversary of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, expressed doubts about their ability to secure adequate funding for Stargate. He questionably stated that SoftBank had "well under $10B secured."- Funding Concerns: Trump, when confronted with Musk's claims, remained confident, pointing out that the project's backers would be contributing the required funds. He also emphasized that the government wouldn't be providing any financing for the project.- Ongoing Lawsuit: Musk is embroiled in an ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI, with the lawsuit revolving around claims that the company has deviated from its nonprofit mission by providing advanced AI technology to private customers.
The tech giant Elon Musk raised concerns about the financial capacity of companies participating in Stargate, a tech-focused business venture backed by OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. Despite Musk's criticism of the project's funding, Trump emphasized that the wealthy project backers were responsible for financing the initiative, and the government wasn't providing any financing.