Tesla

US Secretary of Transportation Recognizes Tesla's Role in Electric Vehicle Industry, Following Biden

Following Joe Biden, the US Secretary of Transportation acknowledged Tesla's role in the electric vehicle industry. It seems that in response to the harsh criticism from the Tesla community and the company's CEO Elon Musk, the government decided to stop ignoring the existence of the manufacturer and recognize its merits.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recognized Tesla's important role in the electric vehicle industry in an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box. He said the government admires a number of American companies, including Tesla, that have made important contributions to the development of EVs. “We admire the range of American companies that have innovative, including Tesla, which did so much to make EVs possible in America,” said Buttigieg.

Earlier, the Secretary of Transport caused a wave of indignation because, just like the President and his administration, he avoided even pronouncing the name “Tesla” publicly. In the summer of 2021, he sidestepped the blunt question of why Elon Musk, as the head of the most important EV development company in the US, was absent in the EV event at the White House. Tesla was not invited, and any politician associated with the Biden administration did not even utter Tesla's name aloud. Meanwhile, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis we’re invited to the event and named as leaders in EV development in the US.

The Biden administration has been heavily criticized for Tesla's absence, and its further actions only escalated the situation. Tension grew to the point that 58,561 people signed the “President Biden Please Acknowledge Tesla's EV Leadership” petition to draw the attention of the President to Tesla and its undeniable achievements. As of February 8, this petition is considered officially closed, as it achieved its goal and Biden recognized the leadership of the Texas manufacturer.

On February 8, the US President publicly uttered the name “Tesla,” something he had not done before. In addition, the head of state recognized the company's important role in the production of electric vehicles in the US. “From iconic companies like GM and Ford building out new electric vehicle production to Tesla, our nation's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, to innovative younger companies,” he said while commenting on his administration's work to restore production in the country.

Now Buttigieg has also started talking about Tesla, which clearly indicates an agreement in the presidential administration regarding their behavior towards the manufacturer. It is clear that naming “Tesla” and acknowledging the company's accomplishments is a deliberate move that nonetheless only underscores the Biden administration's hostility towards the Texan manufacturer. At the moment, the generally accepted opinion is that this attitude towards Tesla is dictated by the fact that the company's employees do not join trade unions, although, for obvious reasons, this opinion is not publicly recognized.

 

© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter


About the Author

Eva Fox

Eva Fox

Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.

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