Elon Musk Slams President Joe Biden’s EV Subsidy, Argues For Better Highways
Electric vehicle maker Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is absolutely disgusted with the idea of a government subsidy that is being pushed by the Biden administration. Musk made the remarks during the Wall Street Journal’s CEO summit.
President Biden and his administration have recently pushed a bill called the Build Back Better Act. The bill has passed in the House but has yet to be approved by the Senate.
The bill will grant tax incentives up to $12,500 for electric vehicles made by makers in the autoworkers’ union. The administration has also granted another $7.5 billion to build charging stations across the country, all in an attempt to make more people to switch to renewable energy. Tesla will also get back its $7,500 benefit that it has not received for the last couple of years.
However, according to Musk, all of these benefits are unnecessary and Tesla has been thriving even without the benefits.
“Honestly, I would just can this whole bill,” Musk said. “Don’t pass it, that’s my recommendation.”
Musk went on to add, “Do we need support for gas stations? We don’t. So there’s no need for support for a charging network. I would delete it. I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies, but also for oil and gas.”
The Biden administration has backed the workers’ union culture from the very beginning and did not even invite Musk to the EV summit held with the President earlier this year.
However, Musk wants the government to act just as a “sports referee” and not as a player in the EV industry. Instead, the billionaire wants the government to make better infrastructure. He believes that the number of cars will only grow in the near future and make traffic worse.
“As autonomous vehicles come to the fore and it is easier to drive without going through the pain of having to drive, which is absolutely coming, it will be one of the biggest transformations ever in human civilization, and there will be more cars on the road. Traffic will get worse,” Musk said.
In another visionary-like plan, Musk wants to build double-decker highways. While Musk owns a company that is tailor-made for this job, the Boring Company, he did not specify when the plan will come to fruition.
In another suggestion for the government, Musk said that the fund should be used in “heavy science” programs like interplanetary infrastructure which will, to him, make more sense than subsidizing electronic vehicles.
“The value of that is a small amount of value for all citizens but it would be inefficient to go and collect $10 from every citizen for a Mars probe. Therefore, it is better to have the government do something like a heavy science program, rather than try to collect a small amount of money from everyone,” he concluded.
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