Elon Musk and Sam Altman of OpenAI disagree over Donald Trump's $500 billion AI initiative.
In response, Sam Altman stated that Elon Musk was “wrong, as you surely know.
In a confrontation with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday, Elon Musk of Tesla questioned a $500 billion artificial intelligence
AI investment that US President Donald Trump had proposed, claiming that the promised funds were missing.
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With Elon Musk playing a significant position in the recently appointed administration after investing $270 million on the election campaign, the remarks were a rare instance of a rift between Donald Trump and the richest man in the world.
In his first full day in the White House, Donald Trump announced Tuesday a significant investment to build AI infrastructure, spearheaded by ChatGPT company OpenAI and Japanese behemoth SoftBank. According to Trump, the Stargate venture “will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States.”
Stargate is already starting to build out data centres
Data centers and the electrical generation required for the advancement of rapidly changing AI technology are already being built out by Stargate. With an initial private investment of USD 100 billion that might grow to five times that amount, Donald Trump hailed it as “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential” under his new administration. Hours later, though, Elon Musk, a key adviser to Donald Trump who helped finance his campaign and currently heads a federal cost-cutting program, questioned the investment’s worth. Elon Musk wrote, “They don’t actually have the money,” on his social media account X.
Reason Behind the clash
According to the news agency Associated Press, the conflict over Stargate is a part of a long-running conflict between Elon Musk and Sam Altman that started with a boardroom argument about who should lead OpenAI, which both men helped build. Musk, a board member and early investor in OpenAI, filed a lawsuit against Altman’s business last year, claiming it had violated its original goals as a nonprofit research lab that served the public interest rather than making money. Since then, Musk has intensified the conflict by bringing up additional allegations and requesting a court injunction to halt OpenAI’s intentions to further transform into a for-profit company. A federal court in California has scheduled a hearing for early February. The richest man in the world, whose businesses include SpaceX, Tesla, and X, launched xAI, a competing AI startup, last year. The company is currently constructing a huge data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
"SoftBank has secured well under $10 billion
“SoftBank has secured well under $10 billion. “I have good authority to say that,” he continued. Elon Musk was “wrong, as you surely know,” Sam Altman retorted, and he was invited to visit the first site in Texas that was already under construction. “This is fantastic for the nation. Using a US flag emoji to symbolize America, Altman added, “I hope you’ll primarily put (America) first in your new role. I realize what’s great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies.”
