By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden publicly acknowledged the role of Tesla (TSLA.O) in U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing on Tuesday, after Chief Executive Elon Musk repeatedly complained about being ignored.
“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,” Biden said, adding other start-ups and saying manufacturing is coming “back to America after decades.”
Musk also opposed government funding for subsidizing electric vehicle charging stations.
Last month, Biden met with General Motors (GM.N) Chief Executive Mary Barra, and the White House has repeatedly praised the Detroit automaker’s electric vehicle efforts, even though it is selling far fewer EVs than Tesla.
In September, Musk said Biden’s electric vehicle policy appeared to be controlled by labor unions. He also criticized Biden in August when he was not invited to a White House event.
“(They) didn’t mention Tesla once and praised GM and Ford for leading the EV revolution. Does that sound maybe a little biased?” Musk said during a panel discussion. “Not the friendliest administration, seems to be controlled by unions.”
When asked about Biden’s Tesla namedropping on Tuesday, Psaki said “We all know that Tesla is a major producer of electric vehicles,” and added the White House sees “huge opportunity” for the United States from the industry overall.
