Compiled / Zhu Lin
Edited / Tu Yanping
Design / Zhao Haoran
Source: CNBC, Forbes, by Brian Schwartz, Michael Wayland, Lora Kolodny
On February 22, local time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk accused U.S. President Joe Biden of ignoring his electric car company and focusing more on traditional automakers.
White House officials feared he would do or say something embarrassing if he was invited to speak at a White House event.
"They have nothing to worry about," Musk assured, "and I'll do the right thing." ”
CNBC reported that Biden did not immediately invite Musk to attend the possible upcoming business leaders meeting at the White House. CNBC contacted Musk about the story, and his comments were published after that.
The discordant argument is not entirely true. Biden deliberately ignores Tesla each time and falsely claims to the public that GM leads the electric car industry, when in fact Tesla produced more than 300,000 electric vehicles last quarter and GM produced 26. Musk said in an email.
Tesla announced in January that it had produced and delivered more than 300,000 vehicles worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2021. General Motors reported that it sold 26 electric vehicles in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, including a Hummer pickup and 25 Bolt EVs.
GM recently announced that it would extend the shutdown of its Chevrolet Bolt EV until early April, but it plans to resume retail soon. GM said it plans to spend $35 billion on electric and self-driving cars by 2025.
Musk's disagreement with Biden
On Feb. 8, Biden recognized Tesla's status as the largest producer of electric cars in the United States— for the first time in his presidency.
Musk and the White House have been at odds since Biden took office.
President Biden pushed for infrastructure reforms and sought to encourage auto companies to go green. Biden has twice failed to invite Tesla at automotive summits and has called GM the leader in electric vehicles in the United States, which has always made Musk very unhappy.
In January 2022, GM CEO Mary Barra stood by Biden's side and said the company wanted to invest $7 billion in Michigan to "further advance our electric vehicle manufacturing."
Musk responded on Twitter at the time: "Start with T, end with A, and ESL in the middle." ”
"It's funny that things got to the point where the Biden administration didn't even allow anyone to say the word 'Tesla'! He was forced by public anger and media pressure to admit that Tesla was indeed leading the electric car industry. I wouldn't call it 'praise'. Musk said in an email on the 22nd.
A White House spokesperson praised Tesla in an email to CNBC on the 22nd: "Tesla has done extraordinary things for electric vehicles, and it is also an important factor in letting the entire industry know now that electric vehicles are the future." ”
The White House representative also pointed the finger at Musk, saying: "Tesla has also benefited greatly from past EV tax breaks, but unfortunately, their CEO is against the new EV tax breaks." ”
Musk has also mocked Biden. At one point, he said Biden was "not awake yet," which actually echoed former President Donald Trump's humiliation of Biden's "Sleepy Joe."
According to people familiar with the matter, because of Musk's evaluation of Biden, some people in the government will privately scold Musk, calling him a "bastard."
Musk said: "Aside from the general concern about more deficit spending, which applies to all presidents, I have no other grievances with Biden, and I have actively supported the joint election between Obama and Biden." ”
Data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics shows that Musk donated more than $30,000 to the Democratic National Committee during the 2012 election cycle, when President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden were vying for re-election with Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Musk also provided more than $2,500 directly to Obama's presidential campaign in that election.
When Biden ran for president in 2020, Musk did not donate to his campaign. He expressed support for businessman and Democratic candidate Andrew Yang. Musk recently donated money to the Republican National Committee.
Musk also runs space exploration company SpaceX, which has a net worth of more than $220 billion, according to Forbes.
Is the White House squeezing out Tesla?
Biden and senior White House officials have privately signaled to their allies that they have no immediate plans to invite Musk to any upcoming executive meetings, according to anonymous sources.
Musk has rebuked the president on Twitter, including most recently, in late January, biden met with General Motors CEO Mary Bora and Ford CEO Jim Farley to discuss with other business leaders the president's Build Back Better initiative. Musk called Biden a "humanoid wet sock puppet" in a tweet.
At the time, asked about Musk's absence, Brian Deese, Biden's top economic adviser, said, "When it comes to electric cars, we want America to be the place to drive the electric car revolution." We want to get more share of global exports and create more good jobs in the United States. So it's not a matter for any one company alone. ”
Behind the scenes, more than half of those familiar with the matter said, the president and his team were aggrieved by Musk's criticism.
A person familiar with the matter said Biden's advisers privately opposed inviting Musk to future industry events because they feared the outspoken executive would say or do something embarrassing to the president or the administration.
When asked about it, Musk first replied with two "laughing and rolling on the ground" emojis, before he went on to say that the White House shouldn't worry about him doing anything out of the ordinary.
A person close to the president told CNBC that because Musk started a tunneling company called Boring Company, someone sought to bring Musk to the negotiating table to discuss the president's $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
White House insiders, including climate adviser Ali Zaid, argue that only unionized auto companies such as General Motors and Ford should meet with Biden and senior administration officials.
The White House has refuted this characterization.
A White House spokesman said: "Ali Zaidi has met with every automaker at least once — including Tesla, and has met many times. President Biden is focused on creating good union jobs across the country and firmly believes that every worker in every state must have a free and fair choice to join a union, as well as the right to collective bargaining with employers. ”
Tesla did not join the union, and Musk challenged the Federation of Auto Workers through his Twitter account. In previous elections, the Confederation of Auto Workers supported Biden's presidential bid.