How Biden pissed off Elon Musk by humiliating him… And rest is history

Billionaire Elon Musk indisputably emerged as one of President-elect Donald Trump’s highest-profile staunch supporters during his reelection bid. The Tesla boss has since gained an even more significant position, pictured as a brother-in-arms with the Republican leader. However, the “once-in-a-generation industry leader,” as Trump once called him, wasn’t always on Team Trump.

The multi-banner CEO only endorsed Trump as of July 13, when the MAGA leader triumphantly emerged as the survivor of an assassination attempt at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. The newly identifying MAGA crony switched over from his former Democrat ways as late as a few months ago and has since unloaded millions into his pro-Trump America PAC arrangement.

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Elon Musk, a Democrat-turned-Republican

Having reportedly voted for Joe Biden in 2020, Musk even voiced his pro-Dems alignment in 2022 when he posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he had “strongly supported Obama for President” in 2007. Before throwing his support behind Trump this year, he poured thousands of dollars worth of donations into both Barack Obama and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s years-old campaigns.

Something noticeably went sideways after he voted for Biden in the 2020 US election. Newsweek recounted how the billionaire entrepreneur vocally sowed the seeds of his Republican agenda in 2020 when he took over Twitter. On November 7, he took the platform and wrote, “I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.” While it’s up for debate whether he did so to push for a semblance of a balanced political table, digital history books recall a 2021 event which possibly motivated the SpaceX chief to switch sides as he firmly held on to a bubbling grudge. A video resurfacing saga also dictates that Musk’s passionate respect for Trump wasn’t always what it is today. In 2016, he critically commented on the Republican politician’s character during an interview with CNBC.

That almost forgotten past was ultimately refurbished, with Musk citing numerous reasons for his endorsement of Trump, one being, “Voting for Trump is voting for Mars!”

When Joe Biden snubbed Elon Musk

Even though there are rationally obvious statements substantiating his reasons for going pro-Trump, including space policy, tax cuts, their shared gender ideology, and so on, it also seems like Biden indirectly did his political rival’s bidding by snubbing him at his White House electric vehicle summit. The timeline also fits the story. In August 2021, Biden hosted an ambitious gathering of automakers, welcoming General Motors and Ford executives. Yet, according to CNN, he missed out on opening the gates for the world’s largest maker of EVs: Tesla.

Soon after, the Tesla CEO curtly tweeted, “Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited.”

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When asked about Tesla’s absence at a subsequent briefing, the then White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “Well, we of course welcome the efforts of automakers who recognise 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. I would not expect this is the last time we talk about clean cars and the move towards electric vehicles, and we look forward to having a range of partners in that effort.”

A potential reason for Biden snubbing Musk seemed to be the United Auto Workers union’s presence at the ceremony. The American labour union has long wrestled with the company to organise workers at Tesla’s plant in Fremont, California, but to no avail.

Psaki was further questioned whether this tense dynamic contributed to Tesla’s omission at the EV summit. “Well, these are the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusions,” the press secretary replied at the time, mentioning UAW represented GM, Ford and Stellantis.

Will Elon Musk be in Donald Trump's Cabinet?

Cut to Trump’s 2024 election victory this week. Elon Musk was among the numerous crucial Republican supporters invited to the president-elect’s exclusive, star-studded election night watch party at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Connecting the dots of these past events maps out a vision of what possibly urged Musk to ultimately jump ship.

Nonetheless, we’re merely tied down by speculative conjecture about this or that - either way, the Musk-Trump connection is now undeniable. The 47th POTUS previously even hinted at enlisting the business for a consulting position.

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Per Trump’s interview on the “Shawn Ryan Show,” he was more than willing to put him in the Cabinet, with Musk equally harbouring desires to be involved. Yet it seems impossible with the tech mogul’s ever-busy position.
“He wants to be involved. Now, look, he’s running big businesses and all that, so, he can’t really, I don’t think he’d be [free] for the Cabinet,” Trump said. “I’d put him in the Cabinet, absolutely, but I don’t know how he could do that with all the things he’s got going. But he could sort of, as the expression goes, consult with the country and give you some very good ideas.”

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