Alphabet Poised as Meta Raises 2026 Capex to $125–$145B and Musk Lawsuit Intensifies
Musk was pressed to confirm he donated $100 million versus a promised $1 billion to OpenAI, revealing he halted contributions after 2017. Meta increased its 2026 capex forecast to $125–$145 billion from $115–$135 billion, sparking a 6% after-hours stock decline.
1. Musk’s OpenAI Funding Under Scrutiny
Elon Musk faced repeated demands to clarify the extent of his early financial support for OpenAI, with legal counsel highlighting that he never fulfilled his pledge to donate $1 billion and instead contributed only $100 million before ceasing donations around 2017. The testimony underscored discrepancies between initial public statements about his commitment and the actual amounts transferred, raising questions about OpenAI’s funding stability during its formative years.
2. Meta’s Capex Surge Pressures AI Sector
Meta boosted its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to a record $125–$145 billion, up from $115–$135 billion, citing higher memory pricing and additional data-center capacity for future AI workloads. The announcement sent its shares down 6% in after-hours trading, while competitors with stronger cloud-services growth, including Alphabet, saw gains, underscoring investor sensitivity to massive AI infrastructure investments and potential impacts on near-term profitability.