White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested Thursday that a Tesla strike with the United Auto Workers Union was a factor in Tesla's absence from an electric vehicle summit.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed surprise this week that his company was not invited to the event, while executive from Ford, GM, and Stellantis stood alongside President Obama as he detailed an executive order calling for half of all U.S. car sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
During the daily press briefing, Tesla was asked to explain why Tesla wasn't invited in the event, despite its leading role in the electric vehicle industry.
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Well, we welcome the efforts of all automakers who recognize the potential of an electric vehicle future and support efforts that will help reach the President's goal. And certainly Tesla is one of those companies, Psaki said. Today, it's the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers, and the UAW president will stand with President Biden as he announces his new goal, but I would not expect this to be the last time we talk about clean cars, the move towards electric vehicles, and we look forward to having a range of partners in that effort.
When asked whether Tesla was omitted from the event because it was not unionized, Psaki again noted that attendees included the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers.
I'll let you draw your own conclusions, she added.
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Over the last few years Musk has spoken out against attempts to unionize Tesla employees at its Fremont, California car plant. In March, the National Labor Relations Board ordered Musk to reinstate a tweet from 2018 and deleted an employee who was fired for labor organization efforts.
While Biden has cultivated close ties with major labor unions since being appointed President in January. His administration has argued its plan to create millions of high paying union jobs will focus on green energy infrastructure.
Ford, General Motors and Stellantis executives have pledged to aim for 40% to 50% of their U.S. sales to be electric vehicles by 2030. Tesla's entire lineup is composed of electric vehicles and holds the largest share of that market.
Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn't invited to Tesla, Musk wrote on Twitter ahead of the event.