SpaceX to Testify to NYC Council on AI Safety After Subpoena

SpaceX has agreed to testify before the New York City Council this week as part of a legislative probe into artificial intelligence safety risks, the council announced Tuesday. The hearing is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. ET.

The council had previously issued a subpoena to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk or another representative to testify at a hearing held last week. SpaceX did not appear, although representatives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta, and Google testified.

SpaceX, which folded Elon Musk's AI venture xAI into the company in February, has now agreed to provide testimony following the council's insistence. The council had previously stated its intention to enforce the subpoena through legal channels if SpaceX did not comply.

The New York City Council launched its investigation following concerns over the rapidly emerging risks posed by AI, which could impact public safety, cybersecurity, economic stability, privacy, consumers, and businesses. The council has expressed that SpaceX's technology proliferation at the federal level makes its data and safeguards particularly important. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.