Donald Trump postponed a planned executive order on artificial intelligence at the last minute after calls from technology industry leaders, according to The Washington Post. The draft would have created a voluntary process allowing developers of advanced AI models to give the government early access for testing dangerous capabilities, security flaws and cyber risks.

WP reported that Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and David Sacks were among those who contacted Trump before the signing ceremony was canceled. Their concern was that even a formally voluntary review system could gradually become a de facto government approval process for model releases. The core argument was competitiveness: new oversight could slow U.S. AI companies while China continues accelerating.

Trump said he disliked parts of the draft and did not want to weaken America’s lead in AI. Musk later pushed back on reports that he had urged Trump not to sign the order, saying he did not know what was in it and spoke with the president only after the decision had already been made.

The episode exposes a deeper split in Washington. Some officials want stronger safeguards for powerful AI models because of cyber, biosecurity and autonomous-system risks. The tech industry fears early government review could become hidden licensing. The order has not disappeared completely, but it is likely to return in a revised form.