Tesla CEO Elon Musk has challenged US President Joe Biden, saying the US does not need his administration’s ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure bill or any of the government subsidies. Biden administration’s bill to boost subsidies for electric vehicles would worsen the budget deficit, Musk says, urging Congress not to approve it.
Musk slams the administration and Democrats over a proposal to provide a $4,500 tax incentive for union-made, US-built electric vehicles. Foreign automakers and Tesla don’t have unions at their US facilities.
Despite Democratic infighting over a social spending package, Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law in November after months of delay. The bill includes $550 billion in new infrastructure spending, including roads, bridges, rail lines, drinking water systems and wastewater treatment plants. Musk also noted that Tesla has been selling its electric cars without the $7,500 federal tax credit for more than a year in the US without a demand hit.
Musk said at the WSJ CEO Council Summit that it may be better if the bill does not pass. I think the government should just get out of the way and not impede progress,” he said, calling for the abolition of all subsidies.
Additionally, he reiterated his opposition to a Democratic plan to tax billionaires. “It makes no sense to take away responsibilities from people who have proven themselves competent in capital allocation and give it to, you know, an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government.”
“I think we have a chance with Neuralink to be able to restore full-body functionality to someone with a spinal cord injury,” Musk said adding, ”Neuralink hopes to start human trials next year pending approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.”
Musk has officially moved Tesla’s headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas, where the company operates more than 3,000 charging stations and around 30,000 connectors worldwide. Electric vehicle production at Tesla’s Fremont, California, the plant will increase by 50 percent, he said.
