New York City Council subpoenas Musk's SpaceXAI after it ignored an AI safety hearing invite

Anthropic, OpenAI and Google only said yes once a subpoena was on its way, and Musk's company never replied at all.

By Think Facility · September 28, 2026 · xAI AI policy

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin subpoenaed Elon Musk's SpaceXAI on September 28, 2026, to make the company testify under oath at a Council hearing on the risks of AI. The Council's release says SpaceXAI never answered its invitation.

Four other labs will be there: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta. The Council calls it the first public testimony under oath from major AI firms, and all but Meta agreed only after being told a subpoena was coming.

Hearing: Committee of the Whole, next Monday, October 5
Members: all 51 members of the City Council
Subpoenaed: Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI, which has still not responded
Agreed to testify: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta
If SpaceXAI doesn't comply: judicial enforcement in New York State Supreme Court

How the four ended up saying yes

Menin wrote to the five companies between September 15 and 17, asking them to appear voluntarily. Meta answered and said a member of its senior leadership would come (it's the only one of the five that needed no threat).

A woman with shoulder-length auburn hair and a black double-breasted coat speaking into a microphone outdoors, with a man in a dark jacket standing behind her — Julie Menin, now Speaker of the New York City Council, in 2023. Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Google and Anthropic said no by the Council's deadline of Friday, September 25. Menin answered the same day. She authorized subpoenas for all of them, to go out at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, September 28, and the Council's lawyers emailed a warning to the four still holding out.

By Sunday, OpenAI and Google had agreed. Anthropic was last, and cut it much finer than I'd guessed from the press coverage.

Anthropic confirmed late Sunday night that it would participate, just hours before the subpoena was due to be served.

From New York City Council Announces Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta to Publicly Testify Under Oath for First Time Since Recent Incident Reports

Why the Council says it's acting

The release points to weeks of warnings from whistleblowers and AI executives, and to reports of rogue AI agents damaging government databases (the Council doesn't name them, though Australia's Medicare portal is one such case we've covered).

Given the high stakes, these firms owe it to the public to come before the Council, answer our questions, and provide input on our proposed legislation under oath.

New York City Council Announces Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta to Publicly Testify Under Oath for First Time Since Recent Incident Reports - Press

There's legislation on the table as well. Members will weigh a whistleblower incentive program the Council calls first-in-the-nation, a private right of action for New Yorkers harmed by AI agents, and independent third-party validation requirements. National experts on AI safety and consumer protection are set to testify too.

The Council's power here comes from Section 29 of the city charter. SpaceXAI has until the hearing on Monday, October 5 to comply, and if it doesn't, the Council says it may go to New York State Supreme Court.

New York City Council subpoenas Musk's SpaceXAI after it ignored an AI safety hearing invite

How the four ended up saying yes

Why the Council says it's acting

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