Trump to host dinner with tech giants at the White House

Washington — President Trump is hosting a dinner Thursday night at the White House with tech giants and other business and political leaders, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk will not be among those attending.

He said on X, "I was invited, but unfortunately could not attend. A representative of mine will be there."

Invited guests include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, according to a White House official. It will be the first known official event held in the newly renovated Rose Garden, which was partially covered in cement in order to more easily allow for tables and chairs. The Hill first reported the list of invitees.

Musk earlier this year had a public falling out with Mr. Trump as he left the administration, blasting Mr. Trump and his administration over government spending and the Epstein files. He pledged to begin a new political party, dubbed the "America Party," although that has yet to come to fruition.

Earlier this week, Mr. Trump predicted that Musk would eventuallly return to the Republican Party.

"I don't think he has a choice," Mr. Trump said in an interview this week on "The Scott Jennings Radio Show." "So what's he going to do, he's gonna go with the radical left lunatics? They're lunatics. I don't think he has a choice. He's a man of common sense, he's a good man."

The president said of Musk,"He's a good man. He got off the reservation, incorrectly, and that's okay, because, you know, it's just one of those things." He also characterized the Tesla CEO as "80% super genius, and then 20% he's got some problems," and added, "and when he works out the 20%, he'll be great, but he's got some difficulty."

The dinner, expected to take place behind closed doors, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. First Lady Melania Trump is hosting an AI summit earlier in the day, and some of the dinner attendees are expected to attend.

Mr. Trump has pursued close relationships with tech CEOs, hosting a number of them for White House meetings and even giving them prime access at his inauguration. A number of those CEOs donated to his inauguration fund.

Kristin Brown contributed to this report.