President Joe Biden publicly acknowledged Tesla for the primary time in his presidency on Tuesday, noting the corporate’s standing because the nation’s largest producer of electrical autos.

Biden’s point out of Tesla got here throughout a speech to advertise American corporations increasing the nation’s EV infrastructure. It was sandwiched between shout-outs to legacy automakers Normal Motors and Ford Motor, in addition to smaller EV corporations Rivian Automotive and Proterra.

Biden had prevented mentioning the corporate as far as president, a call White Home aides say is pushed by his notion that Tesla is anti-union.

The point out additionally comes after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has spent months closely criticizing, even trolling, the president and different elected officers within the Democratic get together on Twitter and through press interviews.

Musk has taken umbrage with Biden’s pro-union and infrastructure spending plans, in addition to his obvious indifference to Musk, his corporations and Tesla’s management in electrical car manufacturing and charging infrastructure.

Musk’s feedback have ranged from calling Biden a “damp sock puppet in human type,” to accusing the president of being “managed by unions.”

That swipe got here after the Biden administration proposed an EV incentive bundle that allotted further cash for shoppers who bought electrical autos, however provided that the autos have been constructed by unionized employees.

Musk has additionally voiced displeasure about Tesla not being invited to the White Home to debate electrical autos alongside others reminiscent of GM and Ford.

Tesla’s supporters even launched a social media and out of doors promoting marketing campaign to strain the president to present a nod to Tesla or Musk.

Alongside Tesla and others, Biden additionally praised quick charging gear producer Tritium on Tuesday for establishing a brand new manufacturing facility in Tennessee. And he praised Intel for its plans to construct a significant semiconductor chip manufacturing facility in Ohio.

“These semiconductors, microchips energy just about all the things in our on a regular basis lives. Cellphones, cars, fridges, the web, the electrical grid. With out semiconductors these issues can’t totally operate,” he famous.

Elevated home manufacturing of chips within the US, Biden mentioned, would allow extra manufacturing right here and assist ease inflation.

“One of many causes cars value a lot is—they’re accountable for one-fifth of the current inflation — is as a result of they lack semiconductors,” mentioned Biden. “They don’t seem to be capable of construct ’em fast sufficient, so the value goes up greater as a result of there’s fewer to promote.”

Then Biden named Tesla for example of an organization that has invested in American manufacturing.

“Since 2021, corporations have introduced investments totaling greater than $200 billion in home manufacturing right here in America. From iconic corporations like GM and Ford constructing out new electrical car manufacturing to Tesla, our nation’s largest electrical car producer, to progressive youthful corporations like Rivian constructing electrical vehicles or Proterra, constructing electrical buses,” Biden mentioned.

Biden uncharacteristically didn’t talk about unions a lot in the course of the Tuesday occasion. Whereas GM, Ford and Proterra have unionized employees, Tesla’s workforce within the U,S. is not unionized. Workforces for Rivian, and different EV start-ups additionally aren’t organized at this time.

Biden did say, “Different international locations acknowledge what’s taking place right here. They wish to purchase American as nicely. They’re able to wager on America and American employees, employees who constructed the center class incomes good pay and advantages and the best to prepare.”

Musk has vociferously opposed unions all through his profession because the CEO of Tesla.

In 2021, the US labor board discovered that Tesla had violated the Nationwide Labor Relations Act after the corporate prohibited staff from talking with press with out authorization, and after Musk mentioned in a put up on Twitter that unionizing would trigger staff to lose inventory choices.

On Tuesday, following the president’s speech, Musk appeared peevish and unimpressed. He posted a hyperlink to a narrative on a Tesla fan-site to the president’s consideration on the social media platform to emphasise that Tesla was the best-selling battery electrical car maker worldwide in 2021.

— CNBC’s Christina Wilkie contributed to this story.