SpaceXAI agrees to testify to the New York City Council on Friday, after skipping its AI safety hearing and facing a court petition over its subpoena

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said on 13 October that SpaceXAI, the AI unit of SpaceX formerly known as xAI, has agreed to testify on AI safety. It will appear before the Council's Committee on Technology on Friday 16 October at 10 a.m., and every Council member may attend and ask questions.

The Council's release sets out how it got there. Menin wrote to five AI companies between 15 and 17 September. On 28 September the Council subpoenaed SpaceXAI. The company did not appear at the 5 October hearing, at which Anthropic, Google, Meta and OpenAI testified under oath, which the Switchboard ran. The Council then said it would petition the New York State Supreme Court to enforce the subpoena. SpaceXAI asked for a meeting on 7 October and has now agreed to appear.

What changed since the hearing: the one company that stayed away has agreed to come. Menin said: “Conspicuously absent was SpaceXAI, which is unacceptable.” Technology committee chair Carmen De La Rosa said: “SpaceXAI tried to circumvent our city's public conversation on the dangers of AI, and we are prepared to ask similar questions expecting better responses.”

The release does not say who SpaceXAI will send, or whether the court petition was filed.

• Confirmed SpaceXAI will testify before the Council's Committee on Technology on Friday 16 October at 10 a.m. New York City Council
• Confirmed The Council subpoenaed SpaceXAI on 28 September; after it missed the 5 October hearing the Council said it would petition the New York State Supreme Court; SpaceXAI asked for a meeting on 7 October. New York City Council