Masayoshi Son is one of the technologists most bullish on AI, but not everyone’s on board with his plans and predictions.
Elon Musk has said that Masayoshi Son’s “bullsh*t” has reached epic proportions after he reportedly began planning a $1 trillion robotics facility in the US. Musk first said “lmao” on the news, and then followed it up with a more detailed assessment. “His bullshit level has reached truly epic proportions,” he posted on X.
Son is reportedly teaming up with TSMC to build a trillion-dollar industrial complex in Arizona to build robots and AI. Codenamed Project Crystal Land, Son is envisioning a U.S. version of China’s Shenzhen manufacturing hub. The facility will have production lines for AI-powered industrial robotics. Son has reportedly already discussed his plans with US government officials about tax breaks for companies that’ll invest in the facility.
But Musk seems skeptical of the plans, and especially the $1 trillion number. This isn’t the first time that Musk has expressed skepticism over Son’s financial plans. When Masa and OpenAI had announced The Stargate Project, which entailed a $500 billion investment in AI datacenters, Musk had said that the numbers weren’t real. “They don’t actually have the money,” he’d then said. “Softbank has well under $10 billion secured. I have that on good authority,” he’d said.
Musk has not been known to mince his words, and he seems to think that Masayoshi Son doesn’t have the money to back up his grandiose promises. Son also has had a mixed record as Softbank Chairman. He’s backed many companies that did extremely well, like Alibaba, but also has many duds to his name, most prominently WeWork, which imploded after a significant investment from Softbank. Masa Son, though, seems to be all in on AI — he’s said that he expects AGI to arrive “much sooner” before 2027, and has previously said that investing trillions in AI is worth it. It remains to be seen if Masa’s bold bets pay off, but Elon Musk at least seems to be firmly in the camp that the bets — to the degree that Masa claims — won’t even materialize in the first place.