Biden’s Tesla snubs sparked Elon Musk’s break from Democrats: report

The Biden administration’s snubbing of Tesla in its electric vehicle push contributed to CEO Elon Musk’s break with the Democratic Party and the billionaire’s eventual endorsement of former President Trump, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The Journal reported the rift began when the White House repeatedly gave Tesla officials the cold shoulder when they reached out multiple times after President Biden‘s inauguration in January 2021, seeking to connect Musk and Biden.

According to the outlet, citing people familiar with the matter, the administration refused to speak with Musk – who has said he voted for Biden in 2020 and voted exclusively for Democrats until a few years ago – out of fear of angering the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Tesla is the only non-union automaker in the U.S.

The administration also notably did not invite Tesla, the biggest EV-maker in the U.S., to a White House event in August 2021, where Biden signed an executive order laying out the goal of having half the vehicles manufactured in the U.S. be zero-emission by the end of the decade. 

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Instead, the White House invited executives from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis – all of which employ thousands of UAW members and produce a fraction of the EVs that Tesla rolls out.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at the company’s Gigafactory in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 7, 2020. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

Then, at a November 2021 event touting the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Biden said, “In the auto industry, Detroit’s leading the world in electric vehicles,” then turned to GM CEO Mary Barra and told her, “You electrified the entire automobile industry. I’m serious. You led, and it matters.”

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According to the Journal, Biden’s comments “outraged” Tesla’s leaders, including Musk. During the fourth quarter of 2021, when the president made those remarks, Tesla had delivered 115,000 EVs, while GM had only produced 26, the outlet noted.

President Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 14, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

FOX Business has reached out to Tesla, the White House and the UAW for comment on the report.

Musk endorsed Trump following the assassination attempt against the former president at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month.

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The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Musk was planning to donate $45 million a month to “pro-Trump” America PAC, which focuses on registering voters and urging swing state residents to vote early and request mail-in ballots as a way to counter Democrats’ “get out the vote” campaigns and on-the-ground efforts.

Musk pushed back on that report, acknowledging that he does plan on donating to America PAC, but at a “much lower level.”

Former President Trump leaves after speaking at a campaign rally at the Trump National Doral Golf Club on July 9, 2024, in Florida. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

“I am making some donations to America PAC, but at a much lower level and the key values of the PAC are supporting a meritocracy & individual freedom,” he posted on X. “Republicans are mostly, but not entirely, on the side of merit & freedom.”

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Musk said he helped create America PAC, which he said would support Trump but “is not supposed to be a sort of hyperpartisan.”

FOX Business’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.