Nearly 40,000 people want President Joe Biden to squash his beef with Tesla (TSLA) and CEO Elon Musk and acknowledge the electric vehicle maker in the country's fight to electrify its auto fleet.
A change.org petition has garnered more than 38,800 signatures since it debuted over the weekend.
"The White House and the Biden Administration have intentionally been trying to ignore Tesla's hard work while propping up GM and others as 'EV Leaders," according to the petition. "They have snubbed Tesla on behalf of UAW citing that the EV events were for UAW."
Musk Not Invited to the White House
The author of the petition, who goes by the screen name 'Poet From The Stars,' notes that Brian Deese, White House Director of the National Economic Council, refused to answer a question on CNBC as to why the Biden administration has not invited or Tesla to any meetings at the White House.
Last week, the White House announced plans to host executives from major U.S. companies in the auto and tech sectors to discuss the President's signature $1.75 trillion Build Back Better legislation.
While the CEOs of GM and Ford are on the guest list for the meeting, notably, Musk is not.
Musk Takes the Low Road
Musk hasn't taken the high road in response to the slights, resorting to name-calling.
"This is an insult to the Americans who work for Tesla. In addition, Biden's insistence that GM is leading while completely ignoring Tesla is pure manipulation and he needs to stop," the petition reads.
The slights from the White House date back to August 2021 when Biden invited GM, Ford, and Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) to the White House lawn to promote EVs.
Tesla wasn't invited despite its dominance of the U.S. electric vehicle market.
When White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked whether the omission was due to the company's anti-union stance she responded that she would "let you draw your own conclusion," according to Business Insider.
