[Technology Hands. Photo credit to Pixabay]

President Donald Trump has announced a massive AI infrastructure project called “Stargate,” and surprisingly, Elon Musk is showing public criticism towards this multi-billionaire project.

Just one day after his inauguration, Trump announced the launch of a nationwide AI development project called Stargate.

Stargate is a massive government-controlled AI infrastructure investment project, created by Trump, Open AI, SoftBank, and Oracle. 

The initiative proposes a $500 billion investment in US AI infrastructure by 2029.

"What we want to do is we want to keep it in this country,” Trump told CBS News. 

"China is a competitor, others are competitors. We want to be in this country, and we're making it available. I'm gonna help a lot through emergency declarations, because we have an emergency, we have to get this stuff built ... .we'll make it possible for them to get this production done easily, at their own plants if they want."

The announcement has drawn mixed reactions from tech industry leaders with the most notable criticism coming from an unexpected source: Elon Musk, traditionally one of Trump’s strongest supporters in Silicon Valley.

Taking to social media platform X, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO cast doubt on the project’s financial viability. 

“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk stated.

“SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”

The public rebuke raised eyebrows, particularly given Musk’s previous alignment with Trump and his well-documented interest in AI development.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the initiative, telling  Fox News, “President Trump is very excited about this infrastructure announcement in the field of AI, which is obviously growing, and something the United States of America needs to capitalize on…So, the American people should take President Trump and those CEOs’ words for it.”

Industry observers speculate Musk’s opposition might come from his complicated history with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a key investor in the Stargate project.

The two entrepreneurs, once co-founders of Open AI, parted ways following disagreements over the company’s non-profit governance structure.

Their relationship has reportedly deteriorated since then.

Altman even replied to Musk’s post on X, “I realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role I hope you’ll mostly put (America) first.”

As debate continues over whether Stargate represents an unsustainable financial burden or a crucial opportunity for American innovation, global attention remains fixed on the dynamic between Trump, Altman, and Musk.

The outcome of this controversy could dramatically impact the United States’ position in the global AI race.