The dismissal by Musk, who is one of Trump’s closest advisers and will head up an agency created to slash the nation’s budget, is one of his first public breaks with the administration. It’s also an unusual move for any senior policy official to question an initiative trumpeted by the president.

Stargate is supposed to spend $500 billion on AI infrastructure, President Trump said. But Elon Musk suggested that the venture has much less cash.