Elon Musk Calls SoftBank's Masayoshi Son 'Overleveraged' As $16 Billion AI Loan Fuels Debate About Viability Of OpenAI's Stargate Project

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk criticized SoftBank Group (OTC:SFTBF) CEO Masayoshi Son as “already overleveraged” on Sunday, reigniting concerns about funding for the ambitious Stargate AI project.

What Happened: Musk’s comments on X came in response to reports that SoftBank is in talks to secure a $16 billion loan for AI investments, with an additional $8 billion potentially being sought in early 2026, according to The Information.

The exchange highlights ongoing tensions surrounding Project Stargate, a $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL), and SoftBank announced by President Donald Trump in January. The initiative aims to build massive AI infrastructure across the United States to maintain technological leadership over China.

Musk has consistently questioned the project’s financial backing. In January, he claimed SoftBank had “well under $10B secured,” adding: “They don’t actually have the money. I have that on good authority.”

See Also: Mark Cuban Was Asked How He’d Invest $100K — His Answer? Buy Bulk Toothpaste And Soup For The ‘Best Guaranteed Return On Investment’

Why It Matters: The ambitious project has significant market implications. Technology partners including Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), and ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) saw stock gains following the initial announcement.

Project Stargate plans immediate deployment of $100 billion, beginning with a 500,000-square-foot data center in Abilene, Texas, with nine additional facilities planned and potential expansion to 20 locations.

SoftBank’s Son will serve as chairman of the initiative, which OpenAI says will “secure American leadership in AI” while creating “hundreds of thousands of American jobs.”

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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