Only three factories associated with the main automobile association were invited.
Tesla chief Elon Musk was insulted for not being invited to the White House Thursday by Joe Biden for an event dedicated to the electric car, but one dedicated to the three manufacturers associated with the major car association.
“I’m not saying it’s vandalism. It’s vandalism,” she wrote on a photo of a skeptical man on Twitter by Elon Musk in response to a CNBC video.
The president of Tesla, a manufacturer of 100% electric cars, appears surprised that a guest was not present at the White House party, which the US president organized Thursday afternoon to give the car an electric boost.
Today, the three largest employers of the UAW (United Auto Workers, powerful auto union of America, editor’s note) and UAW President who will stand shoulder to shoulder with Joe Biden, the White House reacted, Jen Psaki during his daily press conference.
protracted struggle
Did the White House knowingly decide to exclude Elon Musk, a public opponent of the unions, from this event? “Those are the three major players in the UAW. So I’ll let you come to your own conclusion,” Jen Psaki replied, in an interview during the press conference.
Tesla has a long-running dispute with the UAW, which filed a complaint in 2017, accusing the group of firing workers over their union sympathies. And last March, the US Agency for Labor Law (NLRB) issued a decision unfavorable to the manufacturer.
Joe Biden is always keen on the promise of “well-paying jobs and unions,” which is why he rallied the powerful UAW union to his initiative in favor of electric cars.
However, Jen Psaki noted that she “didn’t expect this to be the last time we’d talk about clean cars (…) and we look forward to having a group of partners in this effort.”
She also said, “We of course welcome the efforts of automakers who recognize the potential of the electric vehicle in the future and support efforts that will help achieve the president’s goal. And certainly, Tesla is one of those companies.”