Elon Musk was removed from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO speaker schedule and replaced with John Kerry after a scheduling clash.

The Tesla founder was meant to be speaking at 4.45pm in San Francisco on a panel about AI and the future - but Musk's name was removed from the docket. 

This is because Musk had a schedule change that stopped him from attending in person. He offered to give the speech online, but the APEC declined. 

APEC's meeting is a high-profile summit of 21 countries, expected to bring as many as 30,000 people to the Bay Area this week, including China's President Xi Jinping.

APEC CEO Summit 2023 said in a statement: '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. 

'Elon Musk had a schedule change that prevented him from joining the APEC CEO Summit 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.'

Joe Biden hosted a $40,000-per-seat gala last night in San Francisco with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the 'guest of honor.'

Among the top leaders at the dinner surrounding the APEC meeting with Xi were Apple's Tim Cook and Executive Vice President of Boeing Stanley Deal.