President Joe Biden targets Elon Musk in his latest tirade after the billionaire endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
In response to Musk's endorsement of Trump, President Biden has launched what appears to be a focused campaign to undermine Musk's efforts to support Trump's re-election. This move comes shortly after Musk's public backing of the Republican nominee.
This isn't surprising, as Biden ac knowledges that Musk possesses enormous wealth and perhaps as much influence as anyone globally.
Biden's Ongoing Feud With Elon Musk
Biden's initial jab at Musk came last night when the President used his confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis to attract attention to his X post, where he simply wrote, "I'm sick." However, his follow-up post on X did not confirm his illness.
Instead, it disapproved of Musk's alleged $45 million monthly commitment to help Trump return to the White House—a claim that Musk had denied earlier in the week.
Notably, the Biden Administration is sparing no effort to undermine Musk, sending an email to supporters earlier this week that stated: "Musk already ruined Twitter by allowing hate speech and disinformation to ruin the platform. Now, Musk is using his vast fortune to try and control our democracy."
The conflict between Musk and Biden has been ongoing for years, with the President prioritising unionised automakers and acknowledging their role in pioneering and accelerating the shift to electric vehicles in the US automotive market.
Biden rarely mentioned Tesla when discussing the US electric vehicle market, a fact that frustrated not only the company's dedicated supporters but also Musk himself.
"Biden held this EV summit. Didn't invite Tesla. Invited GM, Ford, Chrysler & UAW. An EV summit at the White House. Didn't mention Tesla once. Does this sound maybe a little biased. Not the friendliest administration," Musk pointed out.
A recent report hints that Musk might assume an advisory role in the White House if Trump is re-elected. Although this remains uncertain, we are entering a crucial phase of the election, with prominent figures starting to align themselves and try to sway public opinion. This follows Musk's endorsement of Trump after the assassination attempt.
While Biden has been critical of Musk, Trump's running mate for Vice President, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance recently praised the 53-year-old business magnate, as reported by Teslarati.
Trump's VP Pick Praises Musk
Vance recently expressed his views on Musk. Despite his previous criticisms of electric vehicle subsidies, Vance appeared to be entirely supportive of the Tesla CEO.
During a Newsmax segment in Milwaukee, Vance emphasised that Musk's companies benefit American workers. He also commended the CEO for creating tangible products—a quality that the former President is reportedly interested in promoting should he win the presidency again.
"Elon is actually a great example of an American entrepreneur. He's built a company, but also a company that's employed a lot of good American workers. If you think about it, Elon Musk is, in some ways, a throwback to an older generation of American entrepreneurs. He builds real things. He builds cars. He builds rockets. And that's the kind of economy that President Trump wants to create," Vance said.
Vance's praise of Musk might come as a surprise, given his past criticisms of electric vehicle subsidies. Just last year, Vance advocated for eliminating EV subsidies to support American-made combustion-engine vehicles.
Nevertheless, Musk appears unfazed by Vance's previous remarks, recently stating on X that he supports eliminating subsidies across all industries, including those for oil and gas.
Vance's observation that Musk's companies create tangible products is indeed well-founded. Tesla, for instance, employs thousands of workers at its major production sites in California, Nevada, New York, and Texas, among others.
However, Tesla has faced limited recognition from the current Biden administration, partly because of its strong backing of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.