Elon Musk criticized Joe Biden's infrastructure plan for high costs the industry will do without government subsidies, said Tesla creator Elon Musk at the Wall Street Journal CEO Summit.
The package has been called the state’s greatest ever investment in the fight against global warming, but Musk criticized it for large spending that could exacerbate the federal budget deficit. “The federal budget deficit is insane. […] I would not accept this bill. This is my recommendation, ”said the billionaire. The new package includes spending on the development of the country's infrastructure for $ 2 trillion.
Musk also said that Tesla did not record a significant drop in demand after its customers were deprived of the opportunity to receive a tax deduction of $ 7,500. Such a measure was introduced in the United States for customers of electric car companies that have sold less than 200 thousand cars in order to stimulate demand from the Americans. However, Tesla and General Motors have already crossed that threshold. Biden's new plan calls for an increase in the deduction and a new subsidy for electric vehicles produced by union workers. Tesla employees do not belong to such organizations.
The head of Tesla said that the absence of large losses for his company after the abolition of the tax deduction proved that there was no benefit from government subsidies. Therefore, the company did not follow up on discussions on the Build Back Better plan in Washington. “Whether this bill is passed or not, we don’t think about it at all. […] I’m speaking bluntly: get rid of all subsidies. The government should get out of the way and not impede progress, ”Musk said. The billionaire has several times criticized the support of the unions by the authorities and called Biden a “puppet” of the United Auto Workers. In addition, the Tesla founder believes that the state should not interfere with the development of charging infrastructure for electric cars, which surprised the audience at the summit.
Despite Musk's recent claims, his companies have enjoyed federal and state subsidies for many years. The US government is a major customer for SpaceX. In addition, Tesla has been able to achieve great success in China, thanks in part to the help of local authorities.
For some time now, however, the United States has shown less interest in the activities of Musk's companies. For example, the White House did not invite Tesla representatives to the big electric car makers' meeting in August, which led the founder to accuse the government of bias. Tesla is also barely mentioned in Biden's programs to develop the electric vehicle industry in the United States.