Trump to Host Top Tech CEOs — But Musk Left Off White House Guest List
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is set to host a high-profile dinner Thursday night with some of the most powerful figures in the tech industry, bringing together executives from companies leading the charge in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital innovation. But one name will be conspicuously absent: Elon Musk.
A Star-Studded Tech Gathering in the Rose Garden
The dinner, which will be held on the newly revamped Rose Garden patio, is expected to draw a powerful roster of tech and business leaders. According to the White House, confirmed guests include:
- Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder
- Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
- Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta
- Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai of Google
- Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
- Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of OpenAI
- Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle
- David Limp, CEO of Blue Origin
- Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron
- Vivek Ranadivé, Chairman of TIBCO Software
- Shyam Sankar, executive at Palantir
- Alexandr Wang, CEO and founder of Scale AI
- Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments
The guest list reflects a who’s who of the AI and tech ecosystem, as the administration looks to position the United States at the forefront of global innovation.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle described the setting as “the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world.” He added that the president “looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio.” The space, recently refurbished with seating reminiscent of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, is being informally referred to by insiders as the “Rose Garden Club.”
No Seat for Musk at the Table
Conspicuously missing from the dinner plans is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. Once a close ally of Trump, Musk had previously been tapped by the president to lead the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, a symbolic post intended to promote cost-cutting and streamlining of federal bureaucracy.
But the relationship soured earlier this year after a very public falling-out. Trump has cited his decision to withdraw the nomination of Jared Isaacman — a Musk associate — to lead NASA as one of the turning points in their relationship. “Isaacman is totally a Democrat,” Trump reportedly told aides, after reversing the nomination.
While the White House hasn’t offered an official reason for Musk’s exclusion from the guest list, multiple sources familiar with the matter suggest that ongoing tensions and Musk’s unpredictable public behavior played a role. Musk, for his part, has made no public comment on the event as of Thursday morning.
Dinner Follows AI Education Task Force Launch
The high-profile dinner comes on the heels of a meeting of the White House’s newly formed Artificial Intelligence Education Task Force, chaired by First Lady Melania Trump. The initiative, which is intended to promote AI education and training for American youth, will focus on preparing the next generation for jobs in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Some of the dinner guests are expected to have participated in the task force’s preliminary session earlier in the day, according to White House officials. The initiative is being positioned as a key policy priority for the Trump administration heading into the next legislative session.
“Our young people must be equipped to compete in a world shaped by artificial intelligence,” said Melania Trump in a statement released Wednesday. “We are committed to ensuring America leads the way in AI education and innovation.”
A Show of Influence — and a Hint of 2024 Strategy
While officially framed as a dinner to discuss innovation and economic growth, Thursday’s event is also being viewed as a display of power and influence, just weeks after Trump made renewed statements about a potential 2024 campaign.
By assembling an elite lineup of tech leaders — while intentionally leaving out Musk — Trump appears to be drawing new lines in the tech-political landscape. His team has long courted Silicon Valley power players, even as the administration has criticized tech companies for censorship, anti-conservative bias, and monopolistic practices.
Yet Thursday’s dinner may signal a shift in tone. With AI at the forefront of global discourse, the Trump White House is presenting itself as both pro-innovation and pro-business — themes that could play prominently in future campaign messaging.
