New York City's Council is forcing Elon Musk's xAI to testify at an AI safety hearing, after the company did not agree to show up on its own.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin said Monday that the council has subpoenaed xAI to testify under oath at an AI safety hearing set for Monday, October 5. Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta have all agreed to appear voluntarily. The hearing is a rare Committee of the Whole session, meaning the full council participates rather than a single subcommittee.
xAI is the only company of the five being compelled rather than asked, which tracks with Musk's broader pattern of resisting regulatory oversight, from SEC disputes to standoffs with state regulators. It also signals the council wants sworn testimony with legal consequences attached, not just a friendly panel.
A subpoena carries more weight than an invitation, but whether an oath changes what any of these companies actually build is a separate question.