Elon Musk Pressured Trump Team to Kill OpenAI’s UAE Deal, White House Ignored Him: Report

Last Updated:May 29, 2025, 12:21 IST

The report claimed that Elon Musk did not like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to be part of a delegation accompanying Donald Trump on a recent Gulf tour.

Sam Altman and Elon Musk are seen.

Elon Musk reportedly attempted to derail OpenAI’s artificial intelligence infrastructure deal in the Middle East unless his own AI startup, xAI, was included but his pressure tactics failed, The Wall Street Journal reported. The report claimed that the Tesla boss did not like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to be part of a delegation accompanying US President Donald Trump on a recent Gulf tour, during which the UAE deal was reportedly finalised.

In response, Elon Musk personally called G42 officials- including Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, UAE’s national security adviser and brother of the country’s president- and demanded that xAI be granted a role in the project, it added.

What Is OpenAI’s Middle East Deal?

The deal in question, announced last week, involves OpenAI and several major US tech firms partnering with G42, an Emirati AI company, to build one of the world’s largest AI computing hubs in Abu Dhabi.

Read more: Elon Musk Exits Trump Administration: ‘My Scheduled Time Comes To An End’

The massive data centre complex is part of Stargate UAE, an ambitious initiative under the broader Project Stargate, a $500 billion AI investment program unveiled earlier this year and backed by Oracle, Nvidia, SoftBank and Cisco.

Elon Musk Said Donald Trump Won’t Approve The Deal

Elon Musk warned that the Donald Trump administration would not approve the deal unless his firm was included, the report claimed. Despite the pressure, White House officials reviewed the agreement and ultimately gave it the green light without Elon Musk’s involvement.

As per the report, a US official described Elon Musk’s concern as being about “fairness for all AI companies," but others familiar with the matter suggested it was part of the billionaire’s ongoing feud with Sam Altman.

The two co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but Elon Musk left in 2018. He has since accused Sam Altman of betraying OpenAI’s founding principles and has filed a lawsuit over its pivot toward profit-driven development and closed-source models.

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News world Elon Musk Pressured Trump Team to Kill OpenAI’s UAE Deal, White House Ignored Him: Report