Is this the end of the showdown? Will we finally see Elon Musk in the White House?
While still waiting for a photo between Elon Musk and Joe Biden, the Democratic president managed for the first time to publicly pronounce the word Tesla (TSLA) after having studiously ignoring the Austin-based company and its whimsical CEO for months.
“Since 2021, companies have announced investments totaling more than $200 billion in domestic manufacturing here in America," Biden said in a speech about U.S. auto manufacturing on Tuesday.
"From iconic companies like GM and Ford building out new electric vehicle production to Tesla — our nation’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer — to innovative younger companies like Rivian building electric trucks or Proterra building electric buses,” Biden said. “We’re seeing the beginning of an American manufacturing comeback.”
Musk, an active presence on social media, had not yet reacted to the mention at the time of this writing, but it is to be expected that he will probably do so in the coming days or even hours.
The acknowledgement of Tesla by the Biden administration comes after protests from Musk that he was not invited by the White House to discuss the president's signature $1.75 trillion Build Back Better legislation, while the bosses of Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) were.
Musk had taken particular umbrage at a post by Biden saying that “companies like GM and Ford are building more electric vehicles here at home than ever before.”
"Biden is treating the American public like fools," he posted on Twitter on Jan. 27.
Tesla is by far the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles in the United States, producing 1.91 million vehicles since 2009. GM, however, has barely produced even one electric car on American soil since September.
Musk stoked his issues with Biden again on Jan. 30, telling his 73 million followers: "For reasons unknown,@potus is unable to say the word "Tesla."
Tesla fans and Musk supporters have launched a petition which has already received almost 60,000 signatures at the time of writing.
The authors, encouraged by Musk, say that the new administration is intentionally snubbing Tesla's CEO despite the company being the largest EV manufacturer in the U.S.
Musk has also called Biden a "damp sock puppet," a charge the president did not address in his comments Tuesday.
