President Joe Biden hailed Elon Musk’s decision to open part of Tesla Inc.’s charging network to other electric vehicles as a “big deal,” flashing a potential thaw in an otherwise frosty relationship between the billionaire and White House.
The comments offered rare praise for Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla, who has had a combative relationship with the president since he took office. After Biden invited the CEOs of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. to the White House, without extending an invitation to Musk’s Tesla, the billionaire tweeted that “Biden is treating the American public like fools.” He added that the president is “a damp sock puppet in human form.”
He also accused the social network of spreading falsehoods. “Now what are we all worried about? Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends and spews lies all across the world,” Biden told donors at a Democratic fundraiser in November.