On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden finally acknowledged the plan announced by Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk to open part of its electric vehicle charging network. President Biden said the move is a “big deal” and will “make a big difference.”
The tweet signifies improving relationships between Joe Biden and Elon Musk, who earlier complained about being ignored by the President.
“In building our EV charging network, we have to ensure that as many chargers work for as many drivers as possible,” Biden said in a tweet. “To that end, @elonmusk will open a big part of @Tesla’s network up to all drivers. That’s a big deal, and it’ll make a big difference.”
“In building our EV charging network, we have to ensure that as many chargers work for as many drivers as possible.
To that end, @elonmusk will open a big part of @Tesla’s network up to all drivers.
That’s a big deal, and it’ll make a big difference.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 15, 2023”
In reply to the tweet, Musk said, “Thank you, Tesla is happy to support other EVs via our Supercharger network.”
It is expected that by the end of 2024, Tesla will open 7,500 new and existing Superchargers and Destination Chargers, the Biden administration claimed on Wednesday. The administration is set to spend $7.5 billion on the expansion of charging infrastructure and kick-start the adoption of electric vehicles.
Until now, Biden was quite ignorant of Tesla’s success and only mentioned companies like General Motors (GM) and Ford, who are also transforming toward the electrification of their vehicles. In 2022, Biden tweeted about Ford investing $11 billion toward its EV business, which would increase opportunities for 11,000 job positions, and General Motor’s $7 billion investment, which would create 4,000 jobs in the United States. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had again responded to Biden, saying Tesla created more than 50,000 jobs across the United States, more than Ford and GM combined. In his criticism of Biden in the past, Musk had even said that the US President “is treating the American public like fools”.
