Elon Musk has fired back at President Joe Biden, accusing him of being “utterly controlled” by the United Automotive Workers (UAW) union. This comes after Biden allegedly snubbed Tesla multiple times, including excluding the company from a White House meeting with automakers in August 2021.
Musk’s comments were sparked by a report highlighting the administration’s repeated disregard for Tesla’s meeting requests. He responded on X, saying Biden would rather see Tesla fail than operate non-unionized . This feud has been ongoing since Biden praised Ford, General Motors, and Dodge-Chrysler for leading the world in electric vehicles, while ignoring Tesla’s significant market share.
The tension between Musk and Biden started when Tesla wasn’t invited to the White House EV summit in August 2021. Musk claimed this was because Tesla’s factory workforce isn’t unionized, and Biden supports unions. Musk has also been critical of Biden’s policies, echoing former President Donald Trump’s nickname for Biden, “Sleepy Joe”.
Musk officially endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, despite Trump expressing negative sentiments toward electric vehicles ². Following this, Biden withdrew from the 2024 election, and Vice President Kamala Harris took over as the Democratic nominee.
