Without Musk, Biden Touts EV Push By Tesla Rivals At White House Forum

President Joe Biden met with the company's biggest competitors at the White House a few hours before they reported record profit and sales.

The presidents praise for their efforts to curb carbon pollution, boost U.S. manufacturing and support Biden's stalled legislation was celebrated by the CEOs of Cummins, Ford and GM. After the White House snub, Musk, the CEO of the world's biggest electric vehicle maker and the richest man on the planet, was on a conference call tout his company's financial gains and answer questions from analysts.

Musk didn't mention the White House forum during the earnings call, and Biden didn't mention Musk at his reception. It seems odd that Musk wasn't invited to the White House meeting on electric vehicles.

In the year 2021, the company produced nearly 1 million electric cars and crossovers at plants in California and China. The company is about to begin production at a huge new EV plant in Austin, Texas. Biden has yet to visit any of the U.S. facilities or meet with Musk.

It is likely that the result of Musk's criticism of Build Back Better is that Congress shouldn't pass it and that there was a lot of accounting tricks. The pro-labor Biden administration is in a tough spot because of the tech billionaire's stance on the United Autoworkers trying to organize the plant. The opening of a store in China for the sale of vehicles has drawn criticism from human rights groups and some members of Congress.

The apparent disdain between Musk and Biden is odd since Biden was instrumental in the early success of the company. The $465 million low-interest loan was given by the Energy Department to help Musk rehabilitate the old plant. It is possible that the company might not have survived its rocky early years without those funds and federal tax incentives.

In the fourth quarter of the year, the company earned net income of $2.32 billion, an eightfold increase from a year earlier, and revenue of $17.7 billion. Musk said on the results call that the year was a breakthrough for the company and for electric vehicles in general.

Biden was extolling the virtues of Mary Barra, GM's CEO, Jim Farley, Ford's CEO, and Tim Linebarger of Cummins, while Musk was extolling the virtues of his company.

Biden said that the industrial Midwest is coming back and doing some of the most sophisticated manufacturing in the world. Efforts to userobots are being expanded byTesla.

The president applauded Ford's $11 billion commitment last year to produce its F-150 Lightning electric pickup and GM's plans to invest an additional $7 billion to bolster its EV production in Michigan. He heaped praise on the companies for the jobs that will be created.

She said that customer incentives stimulates the market.

Musk is against the incentives that helped to build his company.

At least for now, the company can afford to play an antagonist to Biden. Look at the results. When regulatory issues, such as the Transportation Department's scrutiny of the company's Autopilot driver-assist feature, become more serious, Musk may want an invitation to the White House party.