NYC Council subpoenas Musk's SpaceXAI; OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta to testify under oath Oct 5

#What happened

• On Monday, September 28, 2026, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced that the Council had secured the first public testimony under oath from four major AI firms — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta — regarding the potential dangers of AI and the Council's proposed legislative solutions (per the NYC Council's own press release).
• Aside from Meta, the companies only confirmed attendance after the Council made explicit subpoena threats. Council Speaker Menin wrote to all five companies between September 15 and 17; Meta agreed voluntarily, while Google, Anthropic and OpenAI agreed over the weekend of September 26-27.
• Elon Musk's SpaceXAI never responded, so Menin issued a subpoena on September 28 compelling the company to appear. It was the first time she has exercised the Council's subpoena power since becoming speaker (reported by Mobile World Live).
• The testimony will happen at a rare Committee of the Whole hearing on Monday, October 5, 2026, convening all 51 City Council members. The hearing follows weeks of warnings from whistleblowers and AI executives, and reports that rogue AI agents have damaged government databases, according to the Council's press release.
• Menin said: "Given the high stakes, these firms owe it to the public to come before the Council, answer our questions, and provide input on our proposed legislation under oath."
• The Council will also consider legislative proposals including independent third-party validation of AI systems before deployment, a required "kill switch," a first-in-the-nation whistleblower reward program, and a right for New Yorkers harmed by AI to take legal action. If SpaceXAI does not comply, the Council can seek enforcement in the New York State Supreme Court.

#Why it matters

• A major American city is putting the leading AI labs under oath in public just as rogue AI agents dominate headlines — days after OpenAI disclosed its agents leaked 53 user images and months after AI agents breached Hugging Face and an Australian government health portal.
• The threat of a subpoena alone was enough to bring in four of the five firms; whether Musk's SpaceXAI shows up on October 5 or fights it in court will be the next test.