You’ve probably wondered why Vice President Joe Biden won’t talk about Tesla. The President’s cabinet members have a number of portfolios that overlap with Tesla, including Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttegieg, and Communications Secretary Jen Psaki. These members have been asked several times about Tesla news and headlines, but Biden won’t discuss the electric car maker’s recent problems.
Biden’s climate and clean energy goals
If elected president, Joe Biden will focus on improving the energy efficiency of buildings. He will set a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2035, and he will create incentives to increase renewable power use and electric vehicles. He will study what prevents homeowners from making building upgrades and develop a national program to target affordable energy efficiency retrofits for all homes in the United States. Biden will also direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement these changes.
As president, Joe Biden will lead the world in addressing the climate emergency, and he will do it through example. His goals will ensure that the U.S. achieves net zero emissions by 2050. And by then, he will have secured enough support in Congress to ensure these goals are enacted. But there are still concerns about the impact of the energy transition on workers and communities. Biden’s climate and clean energy goals are more ambitious than many are predicting.
Earlier this year, Joe Biden outlined his climate and clean energy goals in his first months in office. These plans include bringing the United States back into the Paris climate accord, decarbonizing the electrical grid by 2030, and boosting the electric vehicle market. But while these actions are necessary, their lack of details and a backup plan undercut their impact and will add more pressure to the climate policy needed to tackle the issue.
However, this ambitious plan would be far from a reality without bipartisan support in Congress. Despite the president’s climate policy agenda, the judicial branch seems set on chopping the wings of the EPA. The Supreme Court heard arguments last month on an EPA power plant case, which impacts power plants and accounts for a third of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Several conservative justices voiced disapproval of the EPA’s asserted powers and are unsure of a legal theory that will limit the agency’s authority. This will certainly hinder the Biden administration’s efforts to decarbonize the economy.
By 2020, the United States should stop financing coal-fired power plants. The government will stop financing projects that cause climate damage and ensure they are environmentally sustainable. In addition, it will also ensure that the overseas private investment corporation and Export-Import Bank do not lend money to coal-fired power plants. By eliminating these fossil fuels from the economy, U.S. finance should no longer be viewed as a dirty alternative to the World Bank.
His labor agenda
If you are wondering why Vice President Joe Biden won’t talk about Tesla, there are several reasons why. First, the company has many ties to the United Auto Workers union, and the president’s allies in the labor movement are very critical of Tesla’s policies. Second, the president has been criticized for refusing to mention the electric vehicle company in a speech to the United States Chamber of Commerce last week.
The President has publicly acknowledged the role Tesla plays in American politics, but he won’t mention the company by name. This omission has sparked a mini-movement to get him to mention Tesla. It has created a bizarre standoff between passionate EV drivers and the president. It’s possible that Biden and Musk don’t see eye-to-eye on the EV industry, but there’s no indication that they don’t like each other’s views.
The President’s proposal to dramatically increase electric vehicle sales is an attempt to push the American auto industry towards greener vehicles. His plan includes tax credits, incentives, and funds for converting federal agency cars to electric. It also includes funding for the installation of electric school buses and transit buses. While these measures may be too little, they will help to shift the American automobile industry towards clean energy. By 2030, he wants to have at least half of all new vehicles in America be electric.
While the president’s plan to expand electric vehicle production is a good first step, he’s ignoring Tesla. Despite the fact that Elon Musk has been an EV pioneer, Biden’s remarks on the topic are a disservice to the industry. While President Obama’s recent speech was aimed at business leaders, the Vice President isn’t mentioning Tesla by name.
However, this president-elect’s team needs to take China’s climate change stance into account. Beijing wants to reduce its reliance on foreign fuel, but the U.S. still controls the sea lanes through which most Middle East oil and coal imports must flow. And by mandating the switch from internal combustion engines to electric, they are undermining the competitive advantages that Japan and Germany have in the automobile industry.
His infrastructure plan
Among his portfolios, Vice President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan does not mention Tesla. The omission of Tesla from Biden’s plan has prompted an odd standoff between EV drivers and those who support traditional American auto companies. Biden and Musk do not seem to see eye to eye on the issues surrounding electric vehicles, but it is not clear if this is because of their different views on the environment or on the UAW.
The infrastructure plan is a bipartisan effort. Initially, Biden’s plan called for $15 billion to build EV charging stations. But Congress cut that amount in half when drafting its bipartisan infrastructure bill. Despite the cuts, the administration continues to stick to its goal of building 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030. Despite the lack of talk about Tesla, Biden’s plan still gives the electric vehicle industry a boost.
One thing is for sure: the climate is warming. Since 1976, there has not been a colder year on Earth. Nine of the last ten years have been the hottest on record. Hayley Smith has the latest numbers. The Biden administration has been bending over to oil industry pressure, but it’s not surprising that they are trying to speed up the construction of renewable energy facilities.
One of the key components of the plan is an ambitious goal for the federal government. The plan includes a clean electricity standard and tax credits to promote renewable energy development. The plan does not mention Tesla at all, but it’s ambitious enough to include Tesla in the mix. A joint energy-transportation office, however, tempers expectations. This policy is important because it will help drive the transition toward more electric vehicles, while also paving the way for greater economic prosperity.
Another key component is a federal program for electric vehicle infrastructure. DOE has allocated $174 billion to the electric vehicle industry in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. It’s also aimed at repairing bridges and highways. It’s not clear whether these funds will help Tesla, but they are critical to the country’s future. The stimulus program is a key component of the plan, which includes incentives for electric vehicle development.
His foreign policy
Several people have been asking why Vice President Joe Biden hasn’t talked about Tesla at his recent briefings. In fact, he has mentioned it only three times, once in relation to a crash investigation and twice in a different context. His omission has angered some Tesla supporters, who want him to talk about it. However, a White House spokesman did not respond to the request for comment. Biden has previously been supportive of more traditional American auto manufacturers and has yet to visit a Tesla factory.
While a billionaire is unlikely to discuss his company’s EV plans in a press conference, he has made his views clear. The Vice President has called for the federal government to tax billionaires. Elon Musk has, for example, called the COVID-19 safety precautions “fascist.” Despite the controversy, however, the company has not responded to requests for comment.
But, there is one thing that Biden has done: he’s praised Ford electric vehicles. The president drove an electric Ford F150 in Michigan, a state known for its automotive manufacturing. The Biden administration is pushing for a massive increase in the number of electric vehicles on the road and the manufacturing infrastructure needed to support them. He says that this investment will create new green jobs and fight climate change.
On the other hand, Biden’s team should assess Beijing’s climate change policy realistically. Beijing wants to boost its energy efficiency by mandating the switch from internal combustion engines to electric cars. But it’s also worried about the competitive advantages that German and Japanese automobile manufacturers have over the Chinese. This makes the Biden team’s job tougher. But it’s still possible to reach an agreement on climate change with China.
The United Mine Workers, an association that represents coal miners, have endorsed the vice president’s infrastructure plan. The infrastructure package calls on Congress to pass a national clean energy standard that would ratchet down utilities’ coal and gas dependency by 2035. The Biden administration’s EPA is also preparing new power plant regulations to protect the environment. While the Trump-era Clean Power Plan was repealed in April, the new Clean Power Plan is still in the works.
