Elon Musk is doubling down on his criticism of President Joe Biden, claiming bias against Tesla.
At the Code Conference on Tuesday, journalist Kara Swisher asked Elon Musk why he had mocked the president in a tweet earlier in September. In the tweet, Musk joked that Biden was unable to congratulate the all-civilian astronaut crew that flew as part of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission because he was "still sleeping" — evoking former President Donald Trump's nickname for Biden, "Sleepy Joe."
Musk told Swisher he thought the Biden administration was "not the friendliest," and referred to an electric vehicle (EV) event hosted at the White House in August, to which Tesla wasn't invited.
"Biden held this EV summit, didn't invite Tesla. Invited GM, Ford, Chrysler, and UAW [United Auto Workers Union]. An EV summit at the White House. Didn't mention Tesla once, and praised GM and Ford for leading the EV revolution," Musk said.
Musk said Biden was a "little biased or something ... just not the friendliest administration."
"Seems to be controlled by unions," Musk added.
This is the third time this month Musk has accused Biden and his administration of being beholden to unions.
On September 12, Musk tweeted his anger at a new proposed bill that would grant tax incentives of $4,500 to electric vehicles built in unionized facilities. Musk claimed without evidence that the bill had been written by Ford and the UAW.
Tesla has historically been opposed to unionization, and in March the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordered Musk to remove an anti-union tweet. Tesla appealed the order in April.
On September 19, the same day as his joke about Biden "sleeping," Musk tweeted his approval for a meme that showed a scene from the film "Alien" where an alien parasite is clamped onto a victim's face. The image labeled the alien "UAW" and the victim "Biden." Musk commented under the meme, saying, "seems that way."
