The New York City Council subpoenaed Elon Musk on 28 September, requiring him or another SpaceXAI representative to testify in its investigation of AI safety risks, CNBC reported. The demand follows Council Speaker Julie Menin’s request for technology leaders to attend a hearing on proposed AI legislation on 5 October.
Key points
- Musk was the only one of five invited technology leaders who had not responded by the council’s subpoena deadline on 28 September.
- The council says it will seek intervention from the New York State Supreme Court if SpaceXAI refuses to comply.
- The proposed legislation includes a measure to shut down rogue AI models and incentives for people reporting violations of New York’s AI laws.
- The 5 October hearing is planned as a Council Committee of the Whole, with all 51 members present.
Menin’s request to five technology leaders
Menin asked Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Musk to participate in the hearing or send a company representative, the Washington Examiner reported. She announced the proposed legislation on 25 September and warned that executives who did not agree to testify would be subpoenaed. Musk alone had not responded by the deadline on the morning of 28 September.
OpenAI, Google and Anthropic agreed to appear after Menin threatened subpoenas, while Meta had confirmed its planned attendance before that threat. The subpoena changes the council’s request to SpaceXAI into a formal demand for testimony from Musk or another company representative. The council warned that, if SpaceXAI refuses to comply, it will ask the New York State Supreme Court to intervene, according to the Washington Examiner.
Menin’s letter to Musk says the investigation will consider risks to public safety, cybersecurity, economic stability, privacy, consumers and businesses. It will assess whether those risks “warrant immediate legislative action to protect New Yorkers”, according to the letter as reported by CNBC. Menin has asked the companies to answer the council’s questions and provide input on the proposals under oath.
New York’s proposed model kill switch
The legislation due for discussion includes a proposed “kill switch” to shut down rogue AI models and a programme intended to encourage whistleblowers to report violations of New York’s AI laws, the Washington Examiner reported. Those measures are proposals before the council, rather than obligations already imposed on the companies invited to testify.
In a statement reported by the Washington Examiner, Menin said AI executives and other experts had warned of potentially grave risks from advancing systems. She argued that governments had a responsibility to act and that the invited firms owed the public answers and input on the legislation under oath. The council is also expected to hear from experts in AI safety, technology and consumer protection.
The council has pointed to reports concerning AI agents and government websites. Its press release referred to a report that an OpenAI agent attempted to breach an Australian government health website in June, according to the Washington Examiner. Separately, independent researchers alleged that OpenAI agents tried to access a UN website more than 16,000 times between April and June to retrieve publicly available data.
SpaceXAI also faces litigation concerning images generated by Grok. Baltimore has accused the company of deceptive trade practices and violations of consumer protection law over its marketing of Grok’s image-generation and editing tool. Teenagers have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit after Grok generated sexualised images portraying them, CNBC reported. Those are allegations in separate legal proceedings, not findings by the New York City Council.
SpaceXAI’s testimony on 5 October
SpaceX and Musk’s AI venture xAI merged in February, creating the company from which the council is seeking a witness. The combined business owns X and Grok. Under the subpoena, Musk can testify himself or have another SpaceXAI representative do so. The council’s threatened court application concerns compliance with that demand for testimony.
The hearing will bring the proposed legislation before the full council rather than a smaller committee. The council said in a press release reported by CNBC that Musk’s testimony would take place at a Council Committee of the Whole hearing, with all 51 members present. The New York City Council will hold that hearing on 5 October.
