Joe Biden Gives Himself A Pat On The Back As GM Announces $7B Michigan EV Investment

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday lauded General Motors Co’s GM latest $7 billion electric vehicle investment in Michigan while giving himself credit for putting in place the "economic strategy" that is at the centre of the change.

What Happened: Biden said the Detroit, Michigan-based legacy automaker’s mega investment that would create 4,000 jobs is the latest sign that his strategy is helping “power an historic American manufacturing comeback.”

“From day one, my administration has been laser focused on making sure that America leads the manufacturing future of electric vehicles,” Biden said, adding that over $100 billion of investment has gone towards building electric vehicles and batteries in the past year. 

Biden aims to dramatically increase the electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. and has vowed to make 50% of all vehicle "zero-emissions" by 2030 in the country.

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GM’s Investment And Tesla Snub: GM had last year said it will boost spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025, which includes plans to launch 30 all-electric models globally,  as it looks to take on Tesla Inc TSLA and Ford Motor Co’s F.

Tesla too has been ramping up capacity with investments in Fremont and soon-to-open gigafactory in Austin, Texas. The Elon Musk-led company is expected to sell over one million electric vehicles globally this year — with some analysts expecting 1.5 million within reach in 2022 —  a significant jump from 936,172 vehicles that it delivered in 2021. 

See Also: President Joe Biden Finally Acknowledges Tesla When It Comes To Future Of EVs...Well, Sort Of

Biden has in the recent past praised the role of Detroit-based traditional automakers, especially naming GM CEO Mary Barra, in “leading the world” in electric vehicles, while giving a skip to Tesla.

Price Action: GM shares closed 1.4% lower at $51.9 a share on Tuesday.

Photo: Courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Flickr