Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in an e mail trade with CNBC on Tuesday, accused President Joe Biden of ignoring his electrical car firm in favor of paying extra consideration to legacy auto makers.

However he additionally sought to guarantee White Home officers who’re involved that he would do or say one thing embarrassing if he had been invited to talk at a White Home occasion.

“They don’t have anything to fret about,” Musk stated. “I might do the appropriate factor.”

Musk’s feedback got here after CNBC contacted him relating to contemporary reporting that Biden and the White Home haven’t any speedy plans to ask Musk to potential upcoming conferences with company leaders. The individuals who spoke to CNBC about how the White Home regards Musk declined to be named to be able to converse freely about personal conversations.

“The notion of a feud shouldn’t be fairly proper. Biden has pointedly ignored Tesla at each flip and falsely acknowledged to the general public that GM leads the electrical automotive trade, when actually Tesla produced over 300,000 electrical autos final quarter and GM produced 26,” Musk stated within the e mail.

Tesla introduced in January that it produced and delivered over 300,000 autos globally within the fourth quarter. Normal Motors reported U.S. gross sales of 26 electrical autos, together with one Hummer pickup and 25 Bolt EV fashions through the fourth quarter.

GM lately introduced it was extending its manufacturing halt of their Chevrolet Bolt EV till early April nevertheless it plans to renew retail gross sales quickly. The corporate has stated that it plans to spend $35 billion on electrical and autonomous autos by 2025.

For the primary time in his presidency, Biden in February acknowledged Tesla’s standing because the nation’s largest producer of electrical autos.

Musk and the White Home have been at odds because the begin of the Biden administration because the president pushes for infrastructure reform and tries to encourage car firms to go inexperienced.

GM CEO Mary Barra stated, standing subsequent to Biden in January, stated the corporate desires to take a position $7 billion into Michigan to “additional our EV manufacturing.” GM is headquartered in Detroit. Musk on the time responded to Barra and Biden’s feedback by tweeting, “Begins with a T, Ends with an A, ESL within the center.”

“It bought to the purpose, hilariously, the place nobody within the administration was even allowed to say the phrase ‘Tesla’! The general public outrage and media strain about that assertion compelled him to confess that Tesla does actually lead the EV trade. I would not precisely name that ‘reward,'” Musk stated within the Tuesday e mail.

A White Home spokesperson praised Tesla on Tuesday in an e mail to CNBC: “Tesla has achieved extraordinary issues for electrical autos and that is an enormous a part of why the entire trade now is aware of EVs are the longer term.”

The White Home consultant additionally took goal at Musk. “Tesla additionally benefited vastly from previous EV tax credit, however sadly, their CEO has recommended an opposition to new EV tax credit,” the consultant stated.

Musk has additionally mocked Biden occasionally. As soon as he stated Biden was “nonetheless sleeping,” successfully mirroring former President Donald Trump’s “Sleepy Joe” insults.

Some within the administration have privately known as Musk names, corresponding to “a–hole,” for what he has stated about Biden, in response to folks with data of the scenario.

“I’ve nothing towards Biden in any other case, aside from common concern about extra deficit spending, which might apply to any president, and actively supported the Obama-Biden election,” Musk informed CNBC on Tuesday.

Information from the nonpartisan Middle for Responsive Politics reveals Musk contributed simply over $30,000 to the Democratic Nationwide Committee through the 2012 election cycle when former President Barack Obama after which Vice President Biden had been preventing Republican candidate Mitt Romney for reelection. He additionally gave over $2,500 on to Obama’s presidential marketing campaign that cycle.

Musk didn’t give to Biden’s marketing campaign when he ran for president in 2020. He voiced help for businessman and Democratic candidate Andrew Yang as a substitute. He lately contributed to the Republican Nationwide Committee.

Musk, who additionally runs area exploration firm SpaceX, has a web value of over $220 billion, in response to Forbes.

Biden and senior White Home officers have privately signaled to their allies that they haven’t any speedy plans to ask Musk to any upcoming conferences with senior executives, in response to folks aware of the matter. These folks declined to be named to be able to converse freely about personal conversations.

Musk has berated the president on Twitter, together with as lately as late January after Biden met with Normal Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley in a briefing with different company leaders to debate the president’s Construct Again Higher initiative, which has stalled in Congress. Musk, in a tweet, known as Biden a “damp sock puppet in human kind.”

When requested on the time by CNBC about Musk’s absence, Brian Deese, Biden’s high financial advisor, stated: “On the subject of electrical autos, we wish the US to be the place the place the electrical car revolution is pushed. And the place we acquire extra of the worldwide export share and we’re creating extra good jobs right here in America. In order that’s not not about anyone particular person firm.”

Behind the scenes, the president and his crew are aggravated with Musk’s criticism, in response to greater than half a dozen folks aware of the matter.

Biden’s advisors have privately pushed again towards inviting Musk to future trade occasions, as they’re involved the outspoken government will say one thing that would embarrass the president or the administration, in response to an individual aware of the discussions.

When requested about this, Musk first replied with an e mail that includes two “roll on the ground laughing” emojis. Then he adopted up by saying the White Home should not fear about him doing something outlandish.

An individual near the president informed CNBC that there was a push to convey Musk to the desk to debate the president’s $1 trillion infrastructure bundle because the government had based a tunnel-digging agency known as the Boring Firm.

Some within the White Home, together with local weather advisor Ali Zaid, consider solely unionized automotive firms, corresponding to GM and Ford, ought to be assembly with Biden and senior administration officers, a few of these folks defined.

The White Home pushed again on this characterization.

“Ali Zaidi has met each automaker at the very least as soon as – together with Tesla, a number of many occasions. President Biden is targeted on creating good union jobs throughout the nation and believes firmly that each employee in each state will need to have a free and truthful alternative to hitch a union and the appropriate to discount collectively with their employer,” the spokesperson stated.

Tesla shouldn’t be unionized and Musk has taken on the United Auto Staff union via his Twitter account. The UAW endorsed Biden for president through the earlier election struggle.