Dow Jones falls 110 points as Trump says China has ‘totally violated’ the preliminary trade agreement

Elon Musk attempted to scuttle a major AI infrastructure deal in the UAE after being excluded from the project, deepening his rivalry with OpenAI’s Sam Altman and complicating President Trump’s efforts to cement American AI dominance.

The Stargate AI campus — a joint venture involving OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and Emirati firm G42 — was delayed after Musk intervened, claiming Trump would not support a deal that sidelined his xAI startup. Sources say the White House fielded backlash from Musk, who has become a polarising figure in Trump’s AI agenda.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI but has since become one of its fiercest critics, was reportedly frustrated by Altman’s central role in the Stargate project. He has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, questioning its for-profit shift and Microsoft ties, while his investor group’s $97.4bn takeover attempt failed earlier this year.

Despite his protestations, Musk was not in the UAE for the signing. He had been travelling with Trump in Saudi Arabia, and a senior official confirmed Musk had raised fairness concerns over how AI companies were being treated.

The feud has complicated Trump’s Middle East tech diplomacy. While the White House hailed the deal as a landmark US-UAE AI partnership, Musk’s involvement highlights growing frictions within America’s AI elite — and their global implications.