Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a swipe at President Joe Biden over his State of the Union address after the president conspicuously omitted mention of Tesla during his remarks on electric vehicles.
“Ford is investing $11 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 11,000 jobs across the country,” Biden said. “GM is making the largest investment in its history—$7 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in Michigan.”
Yet Biden failed to mention Tesla, by far the biggest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the United States which accounted for almost 80% of all electric vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2020.
Musk responded to the snub in an email to CNBC, mocking Biden for his speech. (RELATED: Biden Admin Investigating 416,000 Tesla Vehicles For Brake Problems)
“Nobody is watching the State of the Union,” Musk said.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 01: US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) applaud during a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol House Chamber on March 1, (Photo by Saul Loeb – Pool/Getty Images)
The exchange is the latest development in an ongoing feud between Musk and the Biden administration over the role of Tesla in the nation’s push for increased electric vehicle production. Musk slammed Biden for touting the success of GM’s electric vehicle efforts last month while allegedly ignoring Tesla.
“Biden has pointedly ignored Tesla at every turn and falsely stated to the public that GM leads the electric car industry, when in fact Tesla produced over 300,000 electric vehicles last quarter and GM produced 26,” Musk said in comments to CNBC.
The Tesla CEO also criticized Biden for failing to invite him to the White House for an event related to electric vehicles.
“It got to the point, hilariously, where no one in the administration was even allowed to say the word ‘Tesla’! The public outrage and media pressure about that statement forced him to admit that Tesla does in fact lead the EV industry. I wouldn’t exactly call that ‘praise,’” Musk said.
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