White House Tech Summit: Elon Musk Invited, Won't Attend

Elon Musk was invited to a tech leader summit at the White House's Rose Garden but will not attend. The guest list includes Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Bill Gates, Sundar Pichai, and Sam Altman. Musk's relationship with the White House has been strained due to his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency and his support for primary challengers of Republicans who voted for Trump's funding bill. However, recent comments from Trump and Vice President JD Vance suggest Musk would be welcomed back into the fold.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has been invited to a tech leader summit at the White House's Rose Garden on Thursday but has declined to attend. A representative of Musk will be present in his stead. The guest list includes Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman [1].

The invitation comes at a time when Musk's relationship with the White House has been strained. Musk left his position at the Department of Government Efficiency in the second Trump administration after criticizing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a bill intended to be landmark legislation for Trump. He also supported primary challengers of Republicans who voted for Trump's signature funding bill and even hinted at starting a new political party [2].

However, recent comments from former President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance suggest that Musk's relationship with the White House may be thawing. Trump described Musk as a "man of common sense" and a "good man," despite their past disagreements. He also said that Musk's 20% "problems" would be resolved, leading to a "great" Musk [1]. Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with far-right outlet Gateway Pundit, called Musk's relationship with the Trump White House "complicated" but expressed hope that Musk would support the Republican Party by next November's midterm elections [1].

Musk has also shown signs of backing off his attacks on the administration. He has been less vocal on X and has even appeared to support the White House in some instances. Last month, he replied with a fire emoji and a laughing emoji to a post from White House communications adviser Margo Martin [1].

This invitation could also be a lesson in history for Musk. He was famously not invited to a White House summit on electric vehicles in 2021 during President Joe Biden's administration. Musk has been vocal about how much he continues to be upset over the snub [1].

References:
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/04/tech/elon-musk-white-house-summit-invitation
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Musk_feud