Former President Donald Trump has been accused of betraying Tesla CEO Elon Musk, despite receiving a $180 million donation from Musk for his campaign. This comes following Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), where he criticized the electric vehicle (EV) industry.
What Happened: Musk’s substantial contribution, the largest in this presidential race, was expected to influence Trump’s views on EVs.
However, Trump’s RNC speech, where he accepted the Republican party’s nomination for the presidency, was filled with criticism for the EV industry, reported Fortune.
Michael Murphy, a Republican strategist and CEO of the EV Politics Project, said that Trump “betrayed” Musk.
He noted that Trump had initially refrained from criticizing EVs, but his RNC speech marked a significant shift in his stance.
“Trump had backed off on criticizing EVs for a few weeks, and then the speech came, and one of his wide-eyed assistants stabbed in the prompter, so he gleefully went off on a big EV-bash," Murphy said.
According to the report, on Thursday evening, Trump said his presidency would reverse the "green new scam," particularly by ending "the electric-vehicle mandate on day one," thereby saving "the U.S auto industry from complete obliteration" and "U.S. customers thousands and thousands per car."
According to Murphy, Trump could be referring to the Biden administration's subsidies for the vehicles, which Murphy said has led to larger growth of manufacturing jobs currently than under Trump.
"And then Trump says, ‘Well, it's all government boondoggle.' Well, that's what the Chinese are doing," Murphy told the outlet.
"The Chinese have written much bigger checks to build a huge EV industry that loses money to come in and unfairly compete and put Americans out of work. So Trump doesn't have the policy heft to understand the issues, he just does applause lines that are based on complete ignorance," he added.
Despite Musk’s recent call for the elimination of subsidies for the EV industry, Trump’s rhetoric could potentially impact Musk and his company negatively.
This comes after a period of warming relations between Trump and Musk, with Musk endorsing Trump and Trump praising Musk. Murphy said he remains hopeful that Musk can still positively influence Trump’s views on the EV industry.
Why It Matters: Trump’s criticism of the EV industry, despite Musk’s substantial campaign donation, raises questions about the future of the EV industry under a potential second Trump term.
The president’s promise to end the “electric-vehicle mandate” could have significant implications for Tesla and other EV manufacturers. The potential impact on the EV industry, and on Tesla in particular, will be closely watched by investors and industry observers alike.
This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo: Shutterstock
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