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Tesla CEO Elon Musk bragged that his electric cars were the “most made in the USA” on Tuesday as he hit out at rival General Motors, the Detroit-based auto giant that recently announced that it would manufacture Chevy EVs in Mexico.
GM said on Monday that it will build the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV at a plant in the northern Mexican city of Ramos Arizpe.
The car will be ready to be sold in Mexico by the end of 2023, GM said in a press release.
The Post has reached out to GM seeking comment.
Musk, who was unceremoniously snubbed by President Biden when he excluded the Tesla boss from an electric vehicle summit at the White House last year, tweeted in response to the GM announcement: “Teslas are the most made-in-USA vehicles.”
Biden’s touting of GM and Ford is rooted in his longstanding political alliance with organized labor.
While both Detroit giants employ union labor, Musk’s outfit does not. The world’s richest person, whose fortune is valued at some $223 billion, is a longtime critic of unions.
Tesla manufactures its vehicles out of four fully operational facilities — one in Fremont, California; a newly built “gigafactory” in Austin, Texas; another massive plant in Shanghai, and a freshly inaugurated plant in Berlin.
While Musk touted his company’s manufacturing presence in the US, a key supplier of Tesla’s battery cell technology, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), is scouting factory sites in Mexico, according to Bloomberg News.
Biden’s embrace of GM and his photo opportunities alongside its CEO, Mary Barra, fueled talk that he was purposely thumbing his nose at Musk, who has been a frequent critic of the president.
Musk derisively mocked Biden as “Anchorman” earlier this month after the president flubbed reading a speech from a teleprompter, saying: “Repeat the line.”
Last week, Musk poked fun at the president’s son, Hunter Biden, by posting a meme that made reference to his indulgence in “crack and hookers.”
Musk has stated his intention to vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president if he emerges as the GOP nominee in 2024.
In February, Biden finally uttered the word “Tesla” — the first time he had done so since taking office.
Musk had complained that the president failed to acknowledge his company’s role in producing electric vehicles to help reverse the effects of climate change.
Despite the bad blood, Reuters reported last month that the Biden administration sought advice from Tesla officials on crafting reforms related to electric vehicles.
The Biden administration wanted Tesla’s input as it relates to a plan to significantly expand the scope of its renewable fuel subsidies for electric vehicles.
The US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), an EPA-run federal program that started in 2005, requires transportation fuel sold in the US to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels.
Until now, it has been primarily a subsidy for corn-based ethanol.
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