AUSTIN, Texas — The White House held a summit on the future of electric vehicles on Thursday but excluded the nation's top-selling electric-car company.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that his company — which has been responsible for about 74% of electric-car sales in the US over the past three years — was not invited to the event.
The White House event was about the future of electric cars and fuel-economy standards. President Joe Biden spoke from the White House steps, and he was joined by chief executives from Ford, General Motors and Chrysler's parent company, Stellantis.
On Thursday morning, Biden signed an executive order setting a goal to make 50% of all new cars sold in 2030 zero-emission vehicles.
"The future of the auto industry is electric — and made in America," Biden tweeted.
According to the Business Insider, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked during the press briefing whether Tesla was being excluded from the event because its employees were not part of an automotive union.
"I'll let you draw your own conclusion," Psaki responded.
According to the Business Insider, Musk has publicly discouraged union efforts at Tesla and this may be the reason for Tesla's exclusion from this summit.
In response to queries from the press on why the CEO wasn't invited, Musk responded with a meme calling the move "sabotage."
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