President Donald Trump on Thursday shrugged off an ugly back-and-forth between tech CEOs Elon Musk and Sam Altman that pitted one of Trump’s most visible lieutenants against a key participant in a massive $500 billion AI project Trump announced Tuesday.

Elon Musk is clashing with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the Stargate artificial intelligence infrastructure project touted by President Donald Trump, the latest in a feud between the two tech billionaires that started on OpenAI's board and is now testing Musk's influence with the new president.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has publicly expressed his support for President Donald Trump. This revelation comes years after he praised LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman for stopping his re-election.

Altman said that a project like Stargate might not have been possible with "a different president."

President Donald Trump spoke with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman by phone Friday, ahead of the AI infrastructure announcement, CNBC has learned.

The world's richest man went on a social media tirade against the Open AI chief executive for his former stance on Donald Trump.

The Stargate project, led by OpenAI's Sam Altman - to build the "world's largest AI infrastructure" - was announced by Donald Trump at a special press conference at the White House. Elon Musk, however,

Elon Musk is clashing with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the Stargate artificial intelligence infrastructure project touted by President Donald Trump, the latest in a feud between the two billionaires

Altman and Musk were OpenAI’s founding co-chairs in 2015, but their relationship has devolved into name-calling and lawsuits.

The latest spat began after Altman joined Trump, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison in a White House ceremony on Tuesday to announce the launch of Stargate, a $500 billion venture to advance the United States’ artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The tech billionaires have a rocky history, and Musk's comments about funding for the project, which could attract $500 billion prompted a pointed response from OpenAI leader Altman.