President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday held a meeting with key automaker executives including Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk to discuss electric vehicles and charging, Reuters reported, citing a White House statement.
What Happened: Musk, who has previously been snubbed by Biden on numerous occasions, joined Ford Motor Co’s F Jim Farley, General Motors Co’s GM Mary Barra, and other auto executives.
"..there was broad consensus that charging stations and vehicles need to be interoperable and provide a seamless user experience, no matter what car you drive or where you charge your EV," the report said, citing the statement.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, are said to have attended the meeting, according to Reuters.
Biden has repeatedly praised the role of Detroit-based traditional automakers in “leading the world” in electric vehicles in the past and left out Musk and Tesla.
Why It Matters: Musk-led Tesla has been gradually opening up its supercharger network globally to all EVs since November last year.
It currently has over 30,000 superchargers globally, of which over 8,000 are in China alone.
Though still small, legacy rivals Ford and GM, who are on the brink of rolling out more EVs for customers, have been rolling out more charging networks as well.
Biden’s administration had last year approved $7.5 billion in funding to build out a nationwide network of 500,000 EV chargers, as part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
Price Action: Tesla stock closed 4.2% lower at $1,045.76 a share on Wednesday.
Photo: Courtesy of Tesla
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