US President Donald Trump will host a dazzling White House dinner on Thursday night in the Rose Garden, just days after the work area was revamped, with the tech elite on the glittering guest list. The guest list includes Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and OpenAI Chief Sam Altman, officials have said. The US president, however, has snubbed his former ally and one of the top names in the tech domain—Elon Musk.

Donald Trump with Elon Musk X

The dinner is one of Trump's most ambitious interactions with Silicon Valley since he returned to the White House. The tech industry, once a magnet for constant battles over regulation and content moderation, has rejiggered its ties with the administration since Trump's election victory in 2024. Top technology executives are now aligning their strategies with the US president's priorities, especially around artificial intelligence and deregulation.

The guest list includes many of the industry's top executives, but one notable name is absent: Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX chief, once an ally of Mr. Trump's, was not invited to the gathering. Musk was a supporter of Trump during the election campaign and even headed the brief Department of Government Efficiency. But his leaving the job earlier this year—then a highly public falling-out over the position with the president—was a turning point in their relationship.

Those expected to attend the dinner include Google cofounder Sergey Brin, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. Notable guests of the non-genre variety include TIBCO chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI chief Alexandr Wang, and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman.

The dinner will be topped off by a session with the newly established Artificial Intelligence Education Task Force, led by First Lady Melania Trump. The White House said the Rose Garden, reshaped with stone patios and modeled after President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, would be the site of a series of such high-profile gatherings going forward.

"The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the most happening spot in Washington, and perhaps the world," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement, explaining that the always-cutting-edge president would like more such events in the future.

The Hill first reported on the meeting, which highlights Trump's evolving yet strained relationship with Silicon Valley. Musk, who was once one of Trump's most ardent supporters, was left off the list, signalling a change in the relationship between the administration and the billionaire entrepreneur as Trump grows closer to other industry figures.