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President Biden snubbed Tesla CEO Elon Musk by failing to invite the largest electric car maker to the White House for an event Thursday advocating for half of new cars to be electric by 2030.
Instead, Biden greeted executives from the “Big Three” domestic automakers as he signed a non-binding executive order setting out the goal – then drove an electric jeep around the driveway of the White House.
Musk revealed the snub on Twitter, prompting questions about why the administration would exclude the company that sells more electric cars in the United States than all of the competitors combined, including the Big Three.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a briefing on Thursday that “today it is the United Auto Workers’ three largest employers and the chairman of the United Auto Workers. UAW who will stand alongside President Biden as he announces his ambitious new goal. “
Musk’s Tesla auto company does not have a unionized workforce.
When a reporter asked Psaki to confirm that the snub was the result of Tesla being a non-union store, she said, “These are the United Auto Workers’ three biggest employers, so I’ll let you shoot your own conclusion “.
At the event, Biden repeatedly highlighted the possible benefits for union workers of a transition to electric vehicles.
“When I hear ‘climate’ I think of jobs – well-paying union jobs,” Biden said on the White House lawn.
Leaders from the Big Three were on hand to show voluntary support for the idea, an administration official said. Some of their car models were rolled down the aisle of the White House as part of a free publicity opportunity.
“We will do everything in our power to encourage and protect the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively. Ultimately, we come up with a blue collar plan to rebuild America, ”Biden said.
“We need you to deepen your partnership with the UAW [and] continue to pay good salaries and support local communities across the country. This is why I am so proud that the UAW is also here today. “
According to government data, US companies sold nearly 327,000 electric vehicles in 2019. More than 47% of those sales were the Tesla Model 3, which starts at around $ 40,000. Another 6 percent was the more expensive Tesla Model X, which starts at around $ 100,000, and nearly 5 percent was the Tesla Model S, which starts at around $ 90,000.
Domestic US manufacturers other than Tesla were a tiny part of the market. The top-selling plug-in vehicle by the “big three” in 2019 was GM’s Chevrolet Bolt, with about 5% of the market.
The Toyota Prius Hybrid had a market share of over 7% in 2019, followed by the Nissan Leaf at around 4% and the Honda Clarity at over 3%.
Psaki was pressed for the sincerity of the Big Three by a reporter who noted that they had successfully persuaded the Trump administration to block Obama-era energy efficiency standards due to rising manufacturing costs .
“They are with the president today as he makes this announcement. It’s definitely important, ”Psaki said. “And we’ve seen a lot of these industries move towards electric vehicles as well.”
Biden also announced Thursday that federal agencies will propose new rules for fuel efficiency standards for new cars that use petroleum.
Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, wrote on Twitter that it “seems strange that Tesla was not invited” to the electric vehicles event at the White House.
The reason for Tesla’s exclusion was not immediately clear, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with CNBC that “I don’t know” why the company was snubbed.
Executives from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the corporation that owns Chrysler, have been invited to the White House.
The cost of electric vehicles tends to be higher, although Biden argued that the United States can use the power of federal tax credits and purchasing power to make eco-friendly options more competitive. . Conservative officials have called for the free market to dictate the future of cars.
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