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Biden Ignored Tesla But Praised Ford and GM’s EV Projects
President Joe Biden ignored Tesla once again when talking about the state of electric vehicles in America. During his State of the Union address, the President lauded GM and Ford for their investments in EVs. Lost in his remarks was Tesla, the company that led in EV sales and investments.
RELATED: Biden’s Tweet About US Auto Manufacturing Ignores Tesla, Elon Musk
Biden Ignored Tesla During His EV Remarks
During Biden’s SOTU address, he highlighted his administration’s push for increased domestic manufacturing. He mentioned that General Motors and Ford invested a combined $18 billion to manufacture EVs at their US facilities.
Meanwhile, Tesla, the US EV market leader, was nowhere found among the President’s remarks. The company sells more EVs than any of its rivals. Its market valuation is nearly $900 billion.
This is not the first time that Biden seemed to deliberately ignore the EV company. Earlier this year, the President tweeted about his visit to a General Motors plant in January.
“I meant it when I said the future was going to be made right here in America,” he said. “Companies like GM and Ford are building more electric vehicles here at home than ever before”.
This time, Musk didn’t pull his punches. He referred to Biden as a “damp [sock] puppet in human form” who is “treating the American public like fools”.
CEO Elon Musk Livid As Biden Ignored Tesla Again
The omission of Tesla among the President’s SOTU speech on EV companies is not lost on CEO Elon Musk. Biden’s official Twitter account posted the total investments made by Ford and GM for electric vehicles.
“Ford is investing $11B to build electric vehicles—creating 11,000 jobs across the country. GM is making the largest investment in its history—$7B to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in Michigan.”
Musk took exception to the tweet and replied. He posted “ Tesla has created over 50,000 US jobs building electric vehicles & is investing more than double GM + Ford combined [fyi to the person controlling this Twitter].”
‘Nobody is watching the State of the Union’
In addition, Musk emailed CNBC that “Nobody is watching the State of the Union,” showing signs of growing frustration. Administration officials are also into the alleged snub of Tesla.
Many White House events on the environment and manufacturing often invite EV company heads. However, this doesn’t include Musk or anybody from Tesla.
Meanwhile, some White House advisers say that inviting Musk to White House events comes with risk. The outspoken CEO might say something to embarrass the administration.
However, Musk told the media that he wouldn’t do anything to embarrass anybody. The White House would have “nothing to worry about.”
Nonexistent Union At Tesla Factories
Some analysts speculate that Tesla isn’t the company the administration wants to highlight among EV companies. Despite its status as a market leader, many consider it labor-unfriendly, as unions are not present at Tesla factories.
As early as 2018, Tesla clashed with the United Auto Workers union. The UAW claimed the company fired him because he tried to organize a union vote. Musk responded to the claim via Twitter.
He said that Tesla already pays workers above Union rates, healthcare, and free food and drinks. Top workers also receive stocks as incentives. That’s why “Nobody wants UAW, so UAW keeps trashing Tesla & me via 3rd parties.”
Watch the KTLA 5 video reporting that Musk unhappy that Biden ignored Tesla in the State of the Union:
Loading ...Why do you think President Joe Biden ignored Tesla yet again in his remarks on the EV market? Does Biden hate Tesla, or does he dislike Musk?
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