POLITICS NEWS – Trump invests $500 billion in AI, Elon Musk criticizes the plans as “ridiculous”
Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
On Tuesday, Trump announced a major venture highlighting a partnership between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. Trump invested up to $500 billion in the partnership. As part of the deal, Stargate will build data centers and electricity generation infrastructure in Texas to support rapidly evolving AI, according to the White House.
Elon Musk poured water on the celebration by remarking “They don’t actually have the money,” on X late Tuesday. “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.” Musk further quipped, “Sam is a swindler” and the $500 billion is a “ridiculous number and no one should take it seriously.”
Trump described the initiative as involving “big money and high-quality people, adding that his investment was “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential. Tech leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, credited Trump for facilitating the partnership.
Sam Altman called the project “the most important of this era. It was reported that 10 data centers are already under construction. Oracle’s chairman suggested the project could also improve digital health records, enabling customized vaccines to treat diseases like cancer.
Some are speculating that this is the first sign of discord between Trump and Musk and the beginning of the end of the friendship.
