Trump: Musk Never Asked Me to “Stop” Criticizing Electric Cars

On July 25, 2024, President Trump stated on Tuesday, July 23, that despite Elon Musk endorsing him, he still opposes “certain” electric vehicles. Trump also praised Musk for never asking him to “stop” criticizing electric cars.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump responded positively to Musk’s support, saying, “I love Elon…I’m telling you, he has never called me to say, ‘Can you stop criticizing electric cars.'”

Trump has been critical of the Biden administration’s electric vehicle subsidy policies and stated that if he wins the election, he will end the mandate to promote electric vehicles.

The Biden administration’s major goal is to cut America’s greenhouse gas emissions in half within ten years. To achieve this goal, the Biden administration offers tax incentives and subsidies for purchasing electric vehicles to encourage more people to use them. By 2030, the Biden administration hopes that electric vehicle sales will make up half of all new car sales.

Musk has expressed that Trump’s cancellation of electric vehicle subsidies will harm other car manufacturers more than Tesla.

According to Reuters, Musk said in a conference call after the earnings report that “this will be devastating for our competitors, mildly harmful to Tesla in the short term, but I think possibly helpful to Tesla in the long term.”

Musk stated that Tesla is an artificial intelligence company focused on autonomous driving technology, so cancelling any subsidies will not greatly affect Tesla.

Last week, shortly after the former president escaped an assassination attempt, Musk endorsed Trump.

Musk posted on his social media platform X, saying, “I fully support President Trump and wish him a speedy recovery,” along with a video of the former president raising his fist after being shot in the ear.

During an interview with conservative commentator Jordan Peterson on Tuesday, Musk denied previous media reports about him pledging to donate $45 million monthly to Trump, stating the news was false and the actual donation amount would be “much lower.”

Tesla has halted its plans to build a factory in Mexico and will reevaluate investing in a Mexican factory after the U.S. presidential election.

Musk mentioned, “Trump has indicated he would impose high tariffs on cars produced in Mexico, so investing in Mexico doesn’t make sense.”

At last week’s Republican National Convention, Trump reiterated his support for gasoline cars and promised to bring job opportunities back to the Rust Belt’s auto workers, particularly in Michigan. This state is a crucial battleground in the November presidential election, as Trump won it in 2016 but lost it in 2020.