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Just one day after announcing the ambitious $500 billion Stargate Project, President Donald Trump admitted he is unsure whether the coalition of AI giants leading the initiative has the financial resources to fully realize it.
Reporter: Hours after you made that announcement, Elon Musk tweeted that they don’t actually have the money. Is that true?
Trump: I don’t know if they do, but you know they’re putting up the money. Elon doesn’t like one of those people. So. pic.twitter.com/HFo2lpnzuo
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 23, 2025
The Stargate Project, spearheaded by OpenAI in partnership with SoftBank and Oracle, aims to revolutionize AI infrastructure in the U.S. over the next four years, with an initial $100 billion investment and plans to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Despite backing from major tech players like NVIDIA, Arm and Microsoft, skepticism has mounted regarding the project’s feasibility.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and a vocal critic of OpenAI, cast doubt on the funding behind the project shortly after its unveiling. “They don’t actually have the money,” Musk stated bluntly, raising questions about the financial viability of the initiative.
“I don’t know if they do, but you know, they’re putting up the money,” Trump responded when questioned about Musk’s statement. “The government’s not putting up anything. They’re very rich people, so I hope they do.”
Trump also highlighted the strained relationship between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, implying that Musk’s doubt may stem from a bias. “Elon doesn’t like one of those people,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks suggest a degree of uncertainty about the financial underpinnings of the project, despite his strong endorsement during the initial announcement. As the first phase of construction begins in Texas with a 500,000-square-foot data center, industry analysts are closely watching to see if the ambitious vision can be backed by real financial commitments.
Originally published by Latin Times.
