Elon Musk, slated for the APEC CEO Summit in San Francisco, faced a last-minute program shuffle, with President Biden’s Climate Czar John Kerry stepping in. The unexpected change fuels speculation.
APEC refused Elon Musk from giving the speech online at summit, replaced him with John Kerry
Musk was supposed to speak at the APEC event in San Francisco at 4:45 pm on Thursday about AI and the future. But there was a change in plans, so he couldn’t be there in person. He suggested doing the speech online, but the APEC refused, DailyMail reported.
APEC CEO Summit 2023 released an official statement. “Elon Musk had a schedule change that prevented him from joining the APEC CEO Summit 2023.”
BREAKING: ELON MUSK REPLACED BY BIDEN'S CLIMATE CZAR JOHN KERRY ON APEC CEO SUMMIT PROGRAM pic.twitter.com/ZsitBG0iGw
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) November 16, 2023
“We’re thankful for his offer to join the session remotely, however it was agreed among all speakers that participation would be in person. We look forward to Elon joining us at a future APEC CEO Summit.”
The CEO added: “The session, “A Summit Spotlight 1:1 Conversation on AI and the Future,” will now feature Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce, in conversation with John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.”
The actual reason for the schedule change is not yet known.
Social media reactions to schedule change for Elon Musk’s AI talk
People on X had mixed reactions to the change of schedule. “John Kerry knows more about AI than Elon Musk?” one person asked rhetorically, while another person called it a “downgrade.”
Some people also shared memes on the announcement. “John Kerry is a scam artist. What a shame,” one person wrote.
Scam pic.twitter.com/aJMKoR1oul
— Free Speech USA (@Free_Speech_1A) November 16, 2023
Some even said that Musk must have turned down the offer. Others said the Tesla CEO must think it’s a “waste of his time.”
