TradingKey - U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host a dinner on Thursday with more than two dozen tech leaders, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, to discuss the future of artificial intelligence.
The gathering signals a thaw in relations between Trump and Silicon Valley. Despite past clashes over content moderation and political bias, major tech companies are now actively seeking closer ties with the Republican administration to secure policy support in areas like AI and semiconductor development.
Notably absent from the guest list: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. White House officials confirmed that Musk was not invited — a reflection of the public rift between him and Trump this year. Musk’s high-profile launch of a new political party, the “American Party,” was seen by Trump as a direct challenge to the Republican base. While Trump has praised Musk as “80% genius,” he has also bluntly stated that “20% is problematic,” and predicted that Musk would ultimately have “no choice but to return to the Republican fold.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk has since paused his political party initiative, refocusing on managing his companies and reportedly considering support for Vice President J.D. Vance in the 2028 presidential race.
It should be noted that Musk’s political activities have already taken a tangible toll on Tesla. The company’s sales in Europe have declined for seven consecutive months, with July deliveries in the EU plunging over 40% year-over-year — a drop closely tied to consumer backlash over Musk’s political stances.
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Yet, even as Musk is excluded from Trump’s tech summit, Tesla announced on Wednesday (U.S. Eastern Time) that its Robotaxi app is now open to the public, marking a significant expansion beyond its initial pilot in Austin. The move underscores Musk’s strategic bet on AI and autonomous driving as the core of Tesla’s future.
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