Musk bashes Trump-backed Stargate deal: "They don't actually have the money"

• Trump tasked Musk with slashing federal spending with the new Department of Government Efficiency.
• The pair's budding relationship has grown more entwined since Trump won back the White House, but this is one of their most public disagreements to date.

What he's saying: "They don't actually have the money," Musk said on X late Tuesday night in response to OpenAI's announcement of the project.

• A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Musk's post.

Catch up quick: "The Stargate Project," a joint venture funded by SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years building new AI infrastructure in the U.S.

• The project will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, the company said. Trump called it a "monumental undertaking."
• Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle and OpenAI are the initial technology partners.

Driving the news: Musk said he had it on "good authority" that SoftBank secured "well under" $10 billion.

• "Wrong, as you surely know," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Musk. He urged him to put the country ahead of his own companies.

• "I genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time," Altman said earlier.

Between the lines: Musk and Altman have had a fraught relationship after a falling-out over the direction of OpenAI, which both men co-founded, and Musk is deep in the latest of several lawsuits he has brought against OpenAI.

• Altman donated to and attended Trump's inauguration.

Go deeper: Trump announces billions in private sector AI investment

Editor's note: This story has been updated with an additional quote from Altman.