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Elon Musk and tech leader Sam Altman get into war of words

New York Post elections editor Kelly Jane Torrance and political commentator Debra Lea discuss the rise of A.I. in classrooms on ‘Making Money.’

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that Elon Musk cares more about his businesses than he does the country, shortly after he referred to Musk as “the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time.”

Following the announcement of a new $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure project involving OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank, Musk cast doubt about the project’s ability to follow through with its promises, arguing the cohort of companies did not actually have the money to complete the project. The project, called Stargate, will see the trio of companies join forces to build data centers in the U.S. for the further development of AI, which holds the promise of increasing productivity by automating work.

According to Musk, he has it “on good authority” that the new project is lacking funds, he said in a post on X, in response to a separate post from Altman’s OpenAI touting the new project. “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU COMES TO DEFENSE OF ELON MUSK: ‘FALSELY SMEARED’

Altman responded to Musk’s claim, insisting he was “wrong.”

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar is defending the company’s stance that it has the financial backing to fund the Stargate AI project. (Photo by Muhammed Selim Korkutata/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Wrong, as you surely know,” Altman wrote about Musk’s claim that OpenAI didn’t have the money to fund Stargate. “Want to come visit the first site already under way?” he asked Musk.

“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,” Altman added.

Altman’s jab at Musk resulted in the tech entrepreneur turned presidential advisor posting a barrage of criticisms targeted at Altman, calling him a “liar” and suggesting the OpenAI CEO was greedy and anti-Trump, despite him recently saying that his perspective on the president had changed and that he was excited to see what Trump will do for the country.

TRUMP SUPPORTS ELON MUSK OR LARRY ELLISON BUYING TIKTOK

Musk shared posts criticizing Altman’s ties to LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a critic of Trump who helped fund E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault lawsuit against the president prior to his November election win. Another post that Musk shared claimed that Altman’s OpenAI was giving money to news outlet Axios, which the post accused of being anti-Trump. Musk also highlighted a 2016 post Altman made that said – following Trump’s first election win in 2016 – he was getting “back to work on a new project to stop Trump.”

Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk previously helped launch OpenAI, which Altman is now the CEO of, but no longer has any connection to the company. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Besides trying to paint Altman as anti-Trump, Musk also levied criticisms at OpenAI, which Musk helped found but does not currently have any involvement with. Last year, Musk sued OpenAI twice, alleging that Altman and the company violated a contract they signed agreeing the company would have a main purpose of benefiting the general public, not making money.

“Altman literally testified to Congress that he wouldn’t get OpenAI compensation and now he wants $10 billion!” Musk posted on X, alongside an image of a Reuters headline about Altman obtaining an equity stake in OpenAI after it went from being a nonprofit to a private company. “What a liar.”

Another post shared by Musk included an image of a meth pipe with the caption, “Leaked image of the research tool OpenAI used to come up with their $500 billion number for Stargate.”

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (R), accompanied by President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Jan. 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Trump announced an investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructu (Getty Images)

In response to the war of words between Musk and Altman, artificial intelligence policy researcher Tolga Bilge questioned Altman’s criticism of Musk, writing: “Which is his real mask?” on X.

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“Both are true!” Altman responded. “I don’t think he’s a nice person or treating us fairly but you have to respect the guy, and he pushes all of us to be more ambitious.”

Fox News Digital reached out to OpenAI and Musk for comment but did not hear back by publication time.

January 23, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu comes to defense of Elon Musk: ‘falsely smeared’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended Elon Musk after media outlets described a gesture that the Tesla CEO made at President Donald Trump’s inauguration rally on Monday as a Nazi salute.

Netanyahu took to X on Thursday to post that Musk is “being falsely smeared.”

“Elon is a great friend of Israel,” the prime minister said. “He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. He has since repeatedly and forcefully supported Israel’s right to defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes who seek to annihilate the one and only Jewish state.”

Netanyahu went on to thank Musk for his support.

MEDIA OUTLETS ACCUSE ELON MUSK OF GIVING ‘FASCIST SALUTE’ AT TRUMP INAUGURATION RALLY

Musk made the gesture in question while speaking to a crowd of MAGA faithful at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Elon Musk arrives to speak at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

“This is what victory feels like! And this was no ordinary victory, this was a fork in the road for human civilization… I just want to say thank you for making it happen, thank you. From my heart to yours,” an ebullient Musk said as he placed his hand over his own heart and reached out to the crowd.

PBS News Hour fired out a post on X that said the Tesla CEO “gave what appeared to be a fascist salute,” while the Jerusalem post wrote, “US billionaire Elon Musk appeared to make a Heil Hitler salute at the Washington DC Trump parade on Monday, following Trump’s inauguration.”

CNN host Erin Burnett played the clip of the gesture and called it an “odd salute.”

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Musk addressed the controversy Wednesday on X, which he owns, writing, “The radical leftists are really upset that they had to take time out of their busy day praising Hamas to call me a Nazi.”

On Thursday, Musk poked fun at the reports in another post on X.

“Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Gőring your enemies! His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming,” Musk wrote, adding a crying laughing emoji.

The Anti-Defamation League also defended Musk in a statement saying that the tech billionaire had made an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”

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“In this moment, all sides should give each one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt and take a breath,” the statement said.

Fox News Digital’s David Spector contributed to this report.

January 23, 2025
OpenAI exec responds to Musk, Altman trading barbs over Stargate: We’re at ‘the tip of the iceberg’

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar explains how AI is taking center stage at Davos, what the Stargate project means for the macroeconomy and details new products for key customers.

OpenAI’s chief financial officer is setting the record straight on where funding stands for President Donald Trump’s breakthrough artificial intelligence (AI) project.

“I’m close to this deal, I’ve been working on it. If I look tired, this deal is doing it for me. And I feel really good about where we’re at,” Sarah Friar said in a “Mornings with Maria” interview Thursday from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“I think on Elon, look, he’s a competitor,” she added, “but I want us to compete for the right things.”

On Tuesday, President Trump announced a massive $500 billion infrastructure project called Stargate. Major names including Softbank, OpenAI and Oracle plan to join forces to build data centers in the U.S. for the further development of AI, which holds the promise of increasing productivity by automating work.

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The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. Microsoft, NVIDIA, investor MGX and the chipmaker Arm are also partners in the project.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar is defending the company’s stance that they have the financial backing to fund the Stargate AI project. (Getty Images)

But Tesla and SpaceX CEO – and now Department of Government Efficiency co-chair – Elon Musk took to X to express doubts about OpenAI’s ability to financially back Stargate.

“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk posted on X in response to an OpenAI post touting Stargate. “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”

Backing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s assertion that Musk is “wrong,” Friar also encouraged Musk to be supportive of Trump’s AI plans despite the Musk-Altman fractured relationship.

President Trump makes a major infrastructure announcement on his second day in office.

“Let’s compete for great outcomes for consumers and businesses. Let’s compete for getting investment and jobs into the United States and also for our allies. And let’s compete on making sure that we are driving the right outcomes from a security perspective, too,” the CFO said Thursday.

“And Elon knows that,” Friar pressed, “because in the end, we are at the tip of the iceberg here. We are scratching the surface of what’s coming. This is the A.I. era. And so, getting caught in distractions amongst ourselves just feels like it’s going to slow down the bigger outcome that we’re all looking for.”

A source familiar with Stargate told FOX Business that Stargate is prepared to deploy the $100 billion immediately, and that the companies in the venture are in a good position to make the investments.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anduril Industries co-founder and CEO Brian Schimpf discuss the future of A.I. and the ethical use of technology on ‘Making Money.’

Trying to dampen any tensions, Friar argued that Musk agrees with OpenAI on three core needs for the industry: “amazing people,” and computer and data power.

“That’s why being mission-driven is incredibly important for us, right?” the CFO posited. “We want to make sure we have access to all of those, and we will continue to run the company the way that we see best to get that outcome.”

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FOX Business’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

January 23, 2025
Trump open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying TikTok

President Donald Trump makes a major infrastructure announcement on his second day in office.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated his view that the U.S. should own half of TikTok and said he would be in favor of X owner Elon Musk or Oracle founder Larry Ellison purchasing the China-linked social media app.

During his first day in office on Monday, Trump issued an executive order granting TikTok more time to operate and work toward compliance with a law forcing the platform’s Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, to either divest the app to an American buyer or shut the platform down in the U.S.

Elon Musk, right, speaks with President Donald Trump. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Trump was asked during a press conference announcing the massive Stargate AI infrastructure project, involving Oracle, OpenAI and Softbank, whether he would be open to Musk, his close ally, purchasing TikTok.

“I would be if he wanted to buy it, yeah,” the president replied, adding, “I’d like Larry to buy it, too,” nodding toward Ellison, who was present.

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Trump said he met with the current owners of TikTok, and told the press, “I have the right to make a deal. So, the deal I’m thinking about…” then he turned to Ellison and said, “Larry, let’s negotiate in front of the media.”

Oracle founder Larry Ellison, right, listens to President Donald Trump speak in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The president said the deal he is thinking about would involve someone buying TikTok and giving “half to the United States of America, and we’ll give you the permit, and they’ll have a great partner.”

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After explaining the deal, Trump turned back toward Ellison and said, “Sounds reasonable. What do you think?”

Ellison replied, “Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President.” Trump then turned back to the press and said of Ellison, “He can afford it, too.”

‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary talks TikTok’s future, the Chinese government’s role with a ‘secret golden share’ and the role Trump could play in keeping the platform available in the U.S.

TikTok shut down its U.S. operations on Saturday, the day before its deadline to cease in accordance with the law. However, the platform restored U.S. operations on Sunday after Trump provided assurances that he would sign the executive order extending the deadline in order to reach an agreement that protects America’s national security.

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“By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to [stay] up. Without U.S. approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday. “Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.”

FOX Business’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

January 23, 2025
Musk casts doubt on Trump-backed Stargate project: ‘They don’t actually have the money’

President Donald Trump makes a major infrastructure announcement on his second day in office.

Business magnate and X CEO Elon Musk has cast doubt on whether there is enough funding available to follow through on a massive $500 billion artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure project announced by President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

The new project, called Stargate, will see Softbank, OpenAI and Oracle join forces to build data centers in the U.S. for the further development of AI, which holds the promise of increasing productivity by automating work.

Larry Ellison, the chair of Oracle, also suggested that the project could make it easier to treat diseases such as cancer by possibly developing a customized vaccine by tying the technology with digital health records.

Elon Musk, right, has cast doubt on whether there is enough funding available to follow through on a $500 billion AI infrastructure project announced by President Donald Trump on Tuesday. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, left, pushed back on Musk’s claims. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

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The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. Microsoft, NVIDIA, investor MGX and the chipmakers Arm are also partners in the project.

“The Stargate Project is a new company which intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years building new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States. We will begin deploying $100 billion immediately,” an announcement by OpenAI posted to X on Tuesday reads.

But Musk, who has had a fractured relationship with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, suggested on X that the AI company does not have the cash to back up its announcement.

“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk tweeted on X in response to OpenAI’s post.

Musk then followed up his post by writing, “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”

But Altman clapped back on Musk’s assertions.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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“Wrong, as you surely know. Want to come visit the first site already underway?” Altman wrote.

“This is great for the country. 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.”

Altman also appeared to dial the situation down, commending Musk for being one of “the most inspiring entrepreneurs of our time.”

In March, Tesla CEO Musk announced he was suing ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Altman, among others, saying they had abandoned the company’s original founding mission to develop open-source artificial general intelligence technology for the benefit of humanity over profits.

Meanwhile, a source familiar with Stargate told FOX Business that Stargate is prepared to deploy the $100 billion immediately.

The source said that the companies in the venture are in a good position to make the investments with the equity coming from well-capitalized founding partners, additional equity from co-investors, as well as third-party debt and other sources.

OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle are joining forces to build data centers in the U.S. for the further development of AI. (Dilara Irem Sancar/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)

For instance, SoftBank had $24.3 billion of cash on its balance sheet as of Sept. 30, 2024, per latest earnings. As for earnings, SoftBank’s loan-to-value stood at 12.5%.

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MGX is understood to have $100 billion in capital commitments, and Oracle has $11 billion cash on its balance sheet, while OpenAI recently announced a capital raise of more than $10 billion, per the source.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Wednesday said that Microsoft was committing $80 billion to the project when asked on CNBC about Musk’s comments.

“All I know is I’m good for my $80 billion,” Nadella said. “Customers can count on Microsoft with OpenAI models being there everywhere in the world, serving OpenAI models and other models.”

FOX Business understands that the companies involved in Stargate have not decided on how they will break down the commitments towards the $500 billion figure. Some may put down more than others into the project.

January 22, 2025