Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants Biden to give him credit for buying electric vehicles

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Executive Director Elon Musk He didn’t like what he heard from President Joe Biden during state of the union Qualification. The president praised the car electrification efforts in both

I go motor

And the

general motors

But he didn’t mention Tesla, again.

it has not been first disdain. Since he took office, Biden has often praised electric vehicle innovation at General Motors (stock ticker: GM) and Ford (F) and hasn’t. mentioned That Tesla (TSLA) is an American-born company largely responsible for driving the entire global auto industry toward battery-powered cars.

It seems that the increasing number of eliminations has occurred under the skin of musk, who tweeted his investment statistics on Tuesday night. The spurious, slow-motion breakup between management and Tesla amounts to a minor distraction for investors. But it does raise the question of who has the most influence on the nation’s manufacturing base: the fastest-growing, innovative companies or the largest?

Biden recalled both GM and Ford when speaking about revitalizing American manufacturing: “Companies are choosing to build new plants here when they would have gone overseas just a few years ago.”

Specifically, Biden praised General Motors’ plans to invest billions in Michigan Ford Auto Utilities and Investment Plans 11 billion dollars in the assembly of new electric vehicles and battery capacity in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Musk responded, noting that Tesla created more than 50,000 jobs in the United States and claimed that Tesla was investing more in the electrification of cars than combined General Motors and Ford.

At the end of 2021, Tesla had almost 100,000 people worldwide. It’s unclear whether Musk counts direct US employees in his tweet or includes people who benefit from Tesla’s investment, such as those building new Tesla charging infrastructure or manufacturing capacity. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on Musk’s tweet.

It seems clear that Tesla is leading investment in American electric cars. The company sells the largest number of electric vehicles in the United States, and electric vehicles are all that Tesla does. In 2021, Tesla spent about $7.7 billion on plant and equipment and another $2.6 billion on research and development. That’s a total of $10.3 billion.

Those are big numbers, but GM and Ford are even bigger. Ford employs about 183,000 people worldwide, including 88,000 in the US Ford spent $6.2 billion on plant and equipment in 2021 along with $7.6 billion on research and development.

General Motors, meanwhile, employs 155,000 people worldwide, including 85,000 in the U.S. General Motors spent $7.5 billion on plant and equipment in 2021 to reach $7.9 billion on research and development.

Most Ford and GM workers assemble gasoline vehicles. Most of Ford and GM’s spending supports the vintage car business. But both have big plans for electric cars. Ford and General Motors have committed nearly $65 billion to auto electrification over the next several years. Rough calculations suggest that GM and Ford are directing about half of their annual capital and R&D spending toward electric vehicles, or about $12 to $14 billion annually for the next several years.

If that’s the case, Ford and GM could spend more on electric vehicles than Tesla combined. Musk’s math may be a little off, but he probably won’t mind. Anyway, this is all fun with numbers. Also, GM and Ford’s spending on electric vehicles, for the most part, is happening in the future. Tesla spending has already happened.

What Musk didn’t take credit for in his tweet is that Ford and General Motors don’t plan on spending on electric cars. Maybe I can. Tesla is the main reason for its appearance.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]