After President Biden's inauguration, Tesla officials reportedly reached out to the White House multiple times in hopes of connecting him with Elon Musk. However, the administration repeatedly gave Musk the cold shoulder. According to the Wall Street Journal, the reason behind this snub was the Biden administration's reluctance to upset the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which had pressured the White House to distance itself from Musk.
In August 2021, President Biden organized an electric vehicle (EV) event, where he signed an executive order setting a goal for half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to be zero-emissions vehicles. Just before the event, White House officials called Tesla to apologize for not inviting Musk.
At the time, Tesla accounted for approximately 66% of all EV sales in the United States. Instead, Biden welcomed executives from three other automakers: General Motors (GM), Ford, and Stellantis (the parent company of Chrysler).
"We made it clear to the administration about where things were," a former union official said. "We didn't have to make an ultimatum. They understood."
Things took a turn for the worse when, in November 2021, during an event promoting the new infrastructure bill, President Biden praised GM's CEO, Mary Barra, saying, "In the auto industry, Detroit's leading the world in electric vehicles. You electrified the entire automobile industry. I'm serious. You led, and it matters."
It's worth noting that the previous two UAW presidents were sent to jail for corruption, and the current one is under investigation for similar reasons. In 2021, Tesla was the undisputed leader in the EV market, making it all the more shameful that the Biden administration chose to ignore the company and its contributions to the American economy, including the creation and support of hundreds of thousands of jobs.