Musk, Zuckerberg, and Sacks persuade White House to shelve Trump AI regulation executive order

Semafor Tech · May 22, 2026

AI Summary

•Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and venture capitalist David Sacks convinced the Trump administration to put on hold an executive order that would have created oversight for powerful new AI models, according to people familiar with the matter.
•The push succeeded by appealing to accelerationists (those who prioritize rapid AI development) within the National Economic Council and vice president's office. The proposed order would not have created an official new licensing regime but would have established some oversight mechanisms.
•OpenAI is now pursuing state-level regulation instead, with White House approval, despite an earlier executive order that threatened states passing unwelcome AI regulation. Industry players argue that federal regulation could hamper the US competitive position against China in AI development.

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