On Tuesday, the council said SpaceX agreed to testify as part of its investigation into AI safety. The council's speaker, Julie Menin, and general counsel, Nwamaka Ejebe, issued a subpoena on Sept. 28 to Elon Musk and SpaceX's AI arm, requiring testimony for the Oct. 5 session. Executives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta showed up that day, while SpaceX skipped the hearing.
Menin said SpaceX agreed to testify two days after the Oct. 5 hearing, following the council's notice that it intended to seek judicial enforcement of the subpoena. "Last Monday, we held a major, hours-long hearing with whistleblowers, the world's largest tech companies, and the nation's foremost experts in AI," Menin said in Tuesday's release. "Conspicuously absent was SpaceXAI, which is unacceptable." Friday's hearing will be held by the tech committee at 10 a.m. ET.
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In February, Elon Musk folded xAI, his AI venture, into SpaceX, expanding the company to encompass the Grok models, which some federal agencies - including the Pentagon - use. The company listed publicly in June and carries a valuation of over $2 trillion. In August, the company finalized a $60 billion purchase of AI coding startup Cursor.
SpaceX faces rivals such as Anthropic and OpenAI, even as Grok lags the top-tier models. SpaceX did not answer a request for comment.
In its first letter, the council asked that Musk or a different SpaceX executive provide testimony and said it seeks to "assess whether fast-emerging risks to public safety, cybersecurity, economic stability, privacy, consumers and businesses warrant immediate legislative action to protect New Yorkers." The notice also warned that, in the event of a "failure to comply," consequences could include fines or additional sanctions pursuant to New York City laws and regulations. CNBC was told by Carmen De La Rosa, who chairs the tech committee, that the council expects answers: "With the proliferation of Elon Musk's technology at the federal level, it is even more important they come to the discussion with robust context about data privacy, safeguards, and whistleblower protections." For everyday investors and consumers, subpoenas, potential penalties, and lawsuits around AI tools are reminders that policy and product risks can reshape how big-name players operate and get paid.
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