President Donald Trump is set to host an artificial intelligence summit at the White House with two dozen of the world’s top tech CEOs—with one notable exception.
Practically every big name in tech has been invited to the inaugural event at the newly renovated Rose Garden, which includes an event on AI hosted by first lady Melania Trump and a dinner. The invite list obtained by The Hill includes Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, and Blue Origin CEO David Limp.
Notably absent from the list, however, is Elon Musk, who has been persona non grata at the White House for months since his epic meltdown over Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which included Musk accusing the president of being in the Epstein files.
The former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and the co-founder of both OpenAI and xAI, Musk’s absence will be conspicuous.
After stepping down as the head of DOGE, Musk burned his bridge with the Trump administration in June over the Republicans’ spending bill, which is projected to add $3.4 trillion to the national debt. Musk called it a “disgusting abomination” and threatened to “fire all politicians who betrayed the American people” with the legislation.
Trump shot back that Musk had “lost his mind,” threatened to rescind his government contracts, and send him “back to where he came from.”
The president has rarely spoken of Musk since their breakup in June. During an interview with conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings on Wednesday, Trump said Musk “got off the reservation incorrectly, and ... he wished he didn’t do it,” describing him nonetheless as a “good person.”
“He’s got 80 percent super-genius, and then 20 percent he’s got some problems,” he added. “When he works out the 20 percent, he’ll be great.”
This is not the first time the White House has blacklisted Musk. In 2021, former President Joe Biden declined to invite the Tesla CEO to a summit on electric vehicles and praised General Motors boss Mary Barra for “leading” the EV transition.
The sleight led to a years-long grudge against the former president, which many see as the catalyst for the billionaire’s pivot toward MAGA in 2024.
The White House’s new Rose Garden, which was completed in early August, has been remade to resemble the decor at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
“The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Hill. “The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio.”
In addition to the Rose Garden, the White House also announced plans last month to spend $200 million renovating the ballroom in the East Wing to accommodate hundreds of guests for state dinners and other exclusive events.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
