Mr. Musk Goes To Washington: Tesla CEO Said To Have Quietly Visited White House Last Year — But Did He Meet Biden?

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made a discreet visit to the White House in September. This visit, which was not publicly disclosed, is believed to be Musk’s first since President Joe Biden assumed office in 2021.

What Happened: Musk’s visit to the White House was recorded in the visitor logs for Sept. 13, reported NBC News. The logs indicate that the meeting took place in the West Wing of the White House, with Rohan Patel, a senior Tesla executive for public policy, also in attendance.

The visit was part of a series of meetings Musk had that day, including one with lawmakers and reporters on Capitol Hill at an artificial intelligence summit. The White House appointment was scheduled for 4 p.m., according to the logs.

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Despite Musk’s expressed frustration with the Biden administration, the White House confirmed that the meeting was solely focused on AI and that Musk did not meet with President Biden. This was Musk’s only visit during the current administration.

Why It Matters: Musk’s visit to the White House is significant given his public criticism of the Biden administration. Musk, who was once a supporter of Biden, has undergone a political shift. He revealed voting for Biden in the 2020 presidential election, citing a lack of viability in Donald Trump as an alternative. 

However, Musk expressed regret over his vote for Biden in May of the following year and reiterated his preference for a "normal" president. In December 2021, he took a dig at the president by suggesting an upper age limit of 70 for those running for political office.

In January also he made it clear that he won't be supporting President Biden in the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Musk's discontent with the Biden administration surfaced earlier when he was excluded from an EV summit hosted by the White House in August 2021. The White House hinted that the exclusion might be related to Tesla's resistance to employee unionization. Additionally, Musk opposed the billionaires' tax plan proposed by the Democratic Party.

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