Trump Welcomes Tech Leaders at White House; Elon Musk Absent

President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Bill Gates
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() President Donald Trump is hosting more than a dozen tech CEOs and industry leaders at the White House Thursday evening.

The dinner was set to take place in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, which has been remodeled to include a hard surface with chairs and tables, and umbrellas from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida. The event was moved due to rain.

Who is in attendance?

Some of the most prominent leaders in tech, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, are attending the gathering.

The White House confirmed the guest list also includes several other significant artificial intelligence and technology leaders, including:

Elon Musk absent from guest list

Notably absent from the dinner guest list is Tesla CEO and former Department of Government efficiency employee Elon Musk, partner The Hill first reported.

Musk’s relationship with Trump has deteriorated in recent months following their public fallout over Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”

Musk said he was invited to the AI summit held earlier in the day, writing on X, “I was invited, but unfortunately could not attend. A representative of mine will be there.”

Melania Trump hosts AI education roundtable

The president’s meeting with tech leaders follows an Artificial Intelligence Education task force meeting hosted by first lady Melania Trump earlier Thursday, in which she stressed the importance of responsibly managing the growth of AI.

“I predict AI will represent the single largest growth category in our nation during this administration and I won’t be surprised if AI becomes known as the greatest engine of progress in the history of the United States of America,” the first lady said.

The first lady was joined at the meeting by Google CEO Sundar Pichai and IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was also in attendance.

The meeting coincides with the recent announcement of a presidential AI challenge, in which the first lady encouraged students and educators to “unleash their imagination and showcase the spirit of American innovation.”

affiliate The Hill and the Associated Press contributed to this report

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