I know, readers here have little love for Elon Musk, but I gotta say something...
The Biden Administration, 10 months in, has had its share of heady triumphs and cringeworthy lows. At the inauguration of GM’s Factory Zero last week, the President praised CEO Mary Barra…
Mary, I can remember talking to you way back in January about the need for America to lead in electric vehicles. And I can remember your dramatic announcement that by 2035, GM would be 100% electric.
You changed the whole story, Mary.... You did, Mary. You electrified the entire automobile industry.
This is laughable and embarrassing.
Since blowing an enormous lead with the EV1 fiasco, and after sitting on its hands for 30 years, GM, finding itself staring into the abyss, now hollers an all-electric future. On the other hand, Tesla took serious risks in the EV market for the past 20 years and today has a commanding lead. They have big advantages in batteries, thermal management, software, and many other areas. They design their own chips, and their AI is cutting-edge.
Tesla is not without its problems, including shunning unions, and I believe this is a big reason for Biden’s embrace of GM and Ford. In the same vein, Build Back Better aims to credit buyers of union-made EVs $4500 extra on top of a base $7500 for all new electric vehicles.
The problem I have is, Biden’s giving undeserved credit, loudly and on the world stage. Before now, GM didn’t take the risks or do the hard work, but Biden gave them the spotlight anyway. I am a union member myself, but if this is union boosting, it is dumb. The legacy “Big 3” carmakers, and others, are in serious trouble going forward, and the cheerleading and cash incentives look like more bailouts for dinosaurs too nearsighted to make it on their own. It won’t be enough though, and the fallout is shaping up to be ugly.
Annoyingly, Biden is breathing life into a completely BS narrative, something I naively thought would be over when the country canned his vile predecessor.