Musk and Zuckerberg killed Trump's AI EO — even «voluntary review» was too much
TL;DR
Hours before signing, Trump shelved a voluntary 90-day federal AI safety review EO. Musk, Zuckerberg, and David Sacks called Trump directly — the accelerationist faction won even against voluntary review.
Hours before the signing ceremony, it was suddenly cancelled. Per Semafor's reporting, xAI's Musk, Meta CEO Zuckerberg, and former Trump AI czar David Sacks called Trump directly between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, convincing him to shelve the EO. Their pitch was the «accelerationist» line — pressuring National Economic Council officials and the Vice President's chief of staff that the EO would slow AI and let China catch up.
The EO itself was quite mild. Not a broad regulatory framework — just a voluntary mechanism letting AI developers submit models to federal agencies for safety review up to 90 days before public release. No license system, no mandatory waiting — purely voluntary. Apparently still too much.
Trump to reporters: «I didn't like some aspects of it, so I delayed it. We're leading China, leading everyone, and I don't want to do anything that might impede that lead.»
Whose interests. Musk's xAI is a direct competitor to OpenAI and Anthropic; regulatory vacuum benefits xAI structurally. Zuckerberg's Meta positions itself as an open-source AI champion. The event clearly shows: in the current administration, AI regulation's effective veto sits with a small group of tech executives with direct Trump access.
Compare China. Beijing's State Council in May published the 2026 legislative work plan, formally accelerating AI legislation for the first time. China is writing rules; Washington is cancelling ceremonies.
via Semafor
The EO itself was quite mild. Not a broad regulatory framework — just a voluntary mechanism letting AI developers submit models to federal agencies for safety review up to 90 days before public release. No license system, no mandatory waiting — purely voluntary. Apparently still too much.
Trump to reporters: «I didn't like some aspects of it, so I delayed it. We're leading China, leading everyone, and I don't want to do anything that might impede that lead.»
Whose interests. Musk's xAI is a direct competitor to OpenAI and Anthropic; regulatory vacuum benefits xAI structurally. Zuckerberg's Meta positions itself as an open-source AI champion. The event clearly shows: in the current administration, AI regulation's effective veto sits with a small group of tech executives with direct Trump access.
Compare China. Beijing's State Council in May published the 2026 legislative work plan, formally accelerating AI legislation for the first time. China is writing rules; Washington is cancelling ceremonies.
via Semafor
