Gary Zhou 
Elon Musk has posted what could very well be his cheekiest response yet to US President Joe Biden. Musk’s sharp comments came after the US President’s official Twitter handle posted a video featuring GM CEO Mary Barra and the veteran automaker’s EV plans. The US President’s post stated that GM and Ford are “building more electric vehicles here at home than ever before.”
Anyone that could see vehicle delivery reports of the past quarter would show that Tesla is effectively leading the electric vehicle sector in the United States. In the fourth quarter, for example, Tesla delivered over 308,000 EVs. GM, which Biden has called a leader in the electrification of the auto sector, sold 26 EVs in the same period, comprised of 25 Chevy Bolts and one GMC Hummer EV.
Yet in his recent video, the US President seemingly went out of his way once more to avoid acknowledging that more EVs than ever before are already being made in the United States today. It just so happens that these EVs were made by Tesla. This was a point that Elon Musk decided to make, with the CEO giving Biden a “hint” at the name of the company that’s already making more electric cars in the US than ever before. Musk noted that the company “Starts with a ‘T,’ ends with an ‘A,’ and (has) ‘ESL’ in the middle.”
Biden’s favor towards GM and Ford is unsurprising considering that both automakers utilize union labor, something that the US President fully supports. What is quite surprising, however, is the fact that between the two veteran carmakers, Ford seems significantly ahead of GM in the EV game today. The Mustang Mach-E is seeing great demand from consumers and its sales are up. The reservation list for the F-150 Lightning is getting longer by the day as well.
Quite unlike GM CEO Mary Barra, Ford CEO Jim Farley has also openly acknowledged Tesla’s accomplishments. Musk has also supported Ford’s EVs like the Mustang Mach-E in the past. This is a very different strategy compared to what has so far been adopted by the GM CEO, who — after being told by CNBC‘s Andrew Sorkin that Tesla holds about 63% of the EV market and GM holds 9-10% — proceeded to state that General Motors will not “cede (its) leadership position to anyone.”
