Zuckerberg, Musk, Huang reportedly behind Trump’s AI regulator U-turn

Tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jensen Huang separately convinced President Donald Trump last month to block proposals for an industry-funded AI regulator, according to Forbes, citing a Wall Street Journal report. The Meta, SpaceXAI and Nvidia CEOs reportedly opposed a FINRA-style oversight body proposed by Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, fearing it would consolidate power among OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepMind.

Following separate conversations with the three executives, Trump did not proceed with the regulator proposal. The Journal reported that administration officials say building consensus on AI regulation has been difficult, as opposing CEOs contact Trump directly. Zuckerberg and Huang have both publicly argued that market forces, not government regulation, should guide AI safety practices.