SpaceX to testify in New York City AI safety probe

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SpaceX NYC AI safety hearing

Highlights

SpaceX will testify before the New York City Council’s tech committee on AI safety Friday after earlier refusing the subpoena for the October 5 hearing.
SpaceX merged with xAI in February, acquired Cursor for $60 billion in August, controls the Grok AI model used by federal agencies, and now has a $2 trillion market value after its June IPO.
The AI hearing occurs as xAI faces a UK lawsuit over Grok-enabled privacy breaches, intensifying both US and international legal scrutiny of SpaceX's AI operations.

City hearing follows subpoena pressure

As reported by CNBC, Castillo Madrid is scheduled to testify by video conference before the New York City Council’s tech committee at 10 a.m. ET on Friday at City Hall. The appearance forms part of a legislative investigation examining the risks tied to advanced AI models and the possible shape of new local rules.

SpaceX had originally declined to appear alongside executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta at an Oct. 5 hearing. The company agreed to participate earlier this week after the council threatened to ask a judge to enforce its subpoena.

The probe opens after weeks of heightened debate over AI safety, with council members seeking testimony and other information to help guide future regulation. That places SpaceX, whose operations now span aerospace, defense technology, satellite internet and artificial intelligence, more directly into a public policy debate that is expanding beyond traditional software companies.

Broader AI and legal scrutiny intensifies

Castillo Madrid took her government affairs role at SpaceX earlier this year after working at X, Musk’s social media platform, which the article says is now owned by SpaceX. Before that, she spent nearly three years at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

SpaceX’s role in AI has grown since Musk merged the company with xAI in February, combining his AI and social networking businesses with the rocket launch group and Starlink satellite internet service. The merger put SpaceX in control of the Grok AI model, which is used by some federal agencies, including the Pentagon.

Investor attention on the company has also increased after SpaceX went public in June and reached a market value of about $2 trillion. In August, it completed a $60 billion acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor.

The hearing also comes amid scrutiny from the UK over alleged AI-enabled abuse. Jess Asato, a member of the UK Parliament who appeared at the earlier council hearing, is suing xAI in the UK after Grok users allegedly created and shared sexualized images of her without consent, seeking damages over alleged misuse of private information and breaches of European data protection rules.

In our earlier coverage of SpaceX’s Grok handling transactions, we looked at Elon Musk’s pledge to reimburse users for losses if the AI makes payment or booking mistakes or leaks card details. We also outlined how unclear liability terms and real-world mishaps by AI agents are intensifying debate over who bears responsibility as these tools gain access to financial data and purchasing capabilities.

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