WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building ahead of giving remarks on his administration's efforts to increase manufacturing on February 08, 2022 in Washington, DC.
(Photo : Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
For the first time in his U.S. presidency, Joe Biden publicly acknowledged Tesla's status as the country's largest producer of electric vehicles, as per CNBC. President Biden acknowledged during a speech to promote companies in the United States that are expanding the nation's EV infrastructure.
Biden mentioned Tesla between shout-outs to legacy automakers Ford Motor and General Motors and smaller EV firms Proterra and Rivian Automotive. He had avoided mentioning Tesla since becoming President of the U.S. last year. White House aides said this decision is driven by Biden's perception that Tesla is an anti-union company.
Biden's decision to break his silence on Tesla comes after company CEO Elon Musk launched a barrage of attacks in the past months on the President and other elected officials in the Democratic party, criticizing and even trolling them during press interviews and on his Twitter account.
Musk critical of President Biden's pro-union stance
A reuters report cited Musk being vocal with his opposition to the President's pro-union stance and his plans regarding infrastructure spending. Contributing to Musk's disgust is Biden's apparent indifference to him and his companies, notably Tesla's role as the leader in electric vehicle manufacturing and charging infrastructure.
Among the comments that Musk hurled at Biden was calling the President a "damp sock puppet in human form," and accusing the leader of the free world as one who is being "controlled by unions."
Musk took that thinly-veiled swipe on Biden after his administration made an EV incentive package proposal that allocated additional cash for consumers who bought electric vehicles, but only if the vehicles purchased were built by unionized workers. While Ford, GM, and Proterra all have unionized workers, Tesla's workforce in the United States is not unionized.
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Biden ends year of silence on Tesla during speech
Musk has also been critical of the President not inviting Tesla to the White House alongside other automakers such as GM and Ford to discuss electric vehicles. Tesla's fans even lent their support to Musk regarding this issue, launching social media and outdoor advertising campaigns to pressure Biden to give the nod to Musk or Tesla for their contributions to the EV industry.
They finally got their wish on Tuesday, February 8, with Biden praising several American companies for expanding the country's EV infrastructure. Apart from Tesla, Ford, GM, Proterra, and Rivian, Biden also paid tribute to fast charging equipment manufacturer Tritium for establishing a new manufacturing facility in the state of Tennessee.
Biden also praised Intel for the company's plans to build a major semiconductor chip factory in the state of Ohio. Biden said in his speech that "semiconductors, microchips power virtually everything in our everyday lives." He added that "increased domestic production of chips in the U.S. would enable more manufacturing here and help ease inflation."
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