Category Archives: Elon Musk

March 7, 2022

By Nuno Cristovao

Would Tesla consider creating their own AI-controlled traffic lights? There was an interesting exchange on Twitter about traffic lights that appeared to catch Elon Musk's interest.

The conversation circled around traffic lights and the amount of time and energy that is spent waiting at red lights when there is no traffic.

The traffic light was invented just as the popularity of cars started taking off in the early 1900s. The traffic light itself was first used in 1914, while vehicles became popular in the 1920s.

While there have been numerous improvements to traffic lights, they've been relatively small considering it's been more than a century since their introduction. We've seen improvements such as adding a yellow light to warn drivers of an upcoming red light, using LEDs for better visibility, adding different light combinations, and even using different light patterns based on the time of day.

However, we have the technology today to make traffic lights as we know them a thing of the past.

While traffic lights may seem like an odd business for Tesla to get into, it actually fits their mission and capabilities quite well.

Tesla would use cameras to build an AI system that would predict traffic patterns to reduce time spent and emissions produced at traffic lights.

-Elon Musk

They could even reduce accidents by figuring out the ideal time to wait before flipping the opposite traffic light green.

By Tesla using its core competencies to develop traffic lights it could further accelerate its mission of easing traffic and reducing vehicle emissions. It's a similar reason why they're developing robots.

AI we could practically eliminate waiting at a red light when there's no traffic in sight. It would also vastly speed up most intersections. Time is our most valuable asset, but we spend hours a year stopped at red lights. Just staring and waiting.

Well, apparently Elon Musk strongly agrees with us. When a Twitter user complained that it's mind-boggling the amount of time we collectively spend waiting at empty intersections, Elon replied with a simple "100%."

Elon then replied to another Twitter user expressing his interest that maybe Tesla should get into the traffic light business. Elon talked about the possibility of developing an add-on device for traffic lights. The device would use vision AI to turn legacy traffic lights into AI powerhouses that would maximize traffic throughput.

Here's hoping that this random tweet sparks other conversations at Tesla this morning. Making traffic lights smarter helps ease traffic and fits their competencies and mission perfectly.

I think when Tesla takes a closer look, they'll realize that they can do more than just maximize throughput and reduce waiting, but that they'll also be able to reduce accidents and frustrations that could come with dealing with traffic.

Tesla could eventually develop their own traffic light that would fix even more problems.

If Tesla developed an LED panel-based traffic light, they could even create dynamic traffic lights that would automatically use traffic arrows only when needed, and automatically and continuously adjust the types of traffic signals used based on traffic conditions over time.

An always-connected traffic light could also open up the way to city-controlled traffic lights that could prevent accidents in police chases or save lives by turning lights green for ambulances.

The possibilities are near endless and we could one day look back at those lonesome times when we used to stare up a red light waiting and hoping for it to finally be our turn.

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Elon Musk to speak next month at the TED conference - Not a Tesla App

By Jo Borrs and Zachary Shahan

It is a wild but real question: Would Russia be invading Ukraine right now if Elon Musk hadnt shifted the course of automotive history?

This article came about from some people proposing that the rise of Elon Musk and the EV revolution made Ukraines mineral deposits too valuable for Putin to ignore. Depending on who you believe, the abundance of rare-earth metals in Ukraine needed to power the EV revolution is the real reason that Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched an invasion on the sovereign nation.

Its unrealistic to think that Putin invaded Ukraine just for some more natural resources. As most Ukrainians and Putin experts have pointed out, the gruesome invasion appears to be a combination of Putins disdain for Ukrainians who think they arent part of Russia (which means almost all Ukrainians), the threat of a free and blossoming democracy right next door to Russia (which might give more Russians ideas that Putin doesnt want them to have), and Putins dream of putting the USSR back together or a Russia even further back in time and larger in geography. (Notably, Putin also got divorced in the year that he invaded Crimea, 2014, and he seems ridiculously isolated from the rest of the world these days, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began.) All of those explanations do not mean that there isnt an EV and Elon Musk angle, though.

The transportation industry is electrifying. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Europe. In 2021, 19% of new passenger vehicle sales in Europe were plugin vehicle sales, and 10% were full-electric vehicle sales. There were the same percentages in January 2022, and January is known to be one of the weakest months if not the weakest for EV sales, so expect 2022 to fly past 2021s result.

Meanwhile, while large superpowers like the US and China have very diverse economies, the Russian economy is largely based on oil & gas. The late Senator John McCain famously said, Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country.

Its kleptocracy. Its corruption. Its a nation thats really only dependent upon oil and gas for their economy, and so economic sanctions are important, he added.

And all of that is important without noting that Russian oil & gas production has become harder and harder, more and more costly, and less and less profitable.

Wikipedia writes, The oil and gas sector accounted up to roughly 40% of Russias federal budget revenues, and up to 60% of its exports in 2019.[51]In 2019, theNatural Resources and Environment Ministryestimated the value of natural resources to 60% of the countrys GDP.[52] In an article two years ago, the Warsaw Institute wrote, Vladimir Putin has not taken advantage of the long years of the oil boom and huge state budget revenues from oil exports to reform the economy. Instead of diversifying and strengthening other industrial sectors, it turns out that in the years 2010-2018 Russia has become even more dependent on hydrocarbons. It turns out that the share of oil and gas production in the Russian economy increased from 34.3% to 38.9%. The share of other types of production activity, in particular, the manufacturing industry, decreased from 53.2% to 50.7%.

A move away from oil, something that is happening much faster than most presumed, is a great threat to the Russian economy, and thus to Vladimir Putin. Perhaps Putin did see this threat arising and decided that he would pursue his dream of expanding Russia before it was too late. Perhaps he thought, alone in his bubble of emptiness and callous nationalism, that he had better return Russia to its former glory now, before dying of COVID, a coup, or a citizen uprising.

Next, we have to admit that one of the reasons were here in 2022 talking about a very certain electric future for automobiles is the success of Tesla and that is due largely to the influence of Elon Musk. Tick that box as true, but well explain it in more detail further down.

Image courtesy of Tesla.

Are you with us so far? Now, well ask you again: Would Russia be invading Ukraine right now if Elon Musk hadnt shifted the course of automotive history by investing in Tesla in 2004?

Its a meme. Its fine.

Obviously, we are not blaming Elon Musk for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That said, it wasnt all that long ago that Russia was spoken of as part of a BRIC of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) that some believed would come to collectively dominate global economic growth by 2050.

That notion was largely driven by those nations low labor costs, favorable demographics (whatever that means), and abundant natural resources at a time of a global commodities boom in the early aughts. Natural resources arent created equal, however, and petroleum certainly isnt the long-term, slam-dunk investment it once appeared to be (Goldmans BRICS fund has lost 88% since 2010) and that has an awful lot to do with Tesla.

Photo by Zachary Shahan.

Think of the automotive landscape in March of 2009, when Tesla first unveiled the Model S. The car business was in chaos, reeling from the global financial crisis. Only weirdos like Ed Begley Jr. and well, me and Zachary and Chelsea Sexton were thinking seriously about EVs. The closest thing there was to a mainstream electric car was the Chevy Volt concept GM showed in 2007 and that was still a few years away.

There was nothing, in other words and certainly nothing desirable. Heck, even the Tesla was a bit of a niche thing with a limited audience and a questionable future, according to the zeitgeist of the moment.

Then the videos started showing up on YouTube. All of a sudden, an electric car wasnt just an expensive car. An electric car became a fast car. So fast, in fact, that it made the old guard of Mustang, Camaro, and Corvette buyers sit up and take notice. Heck, it made real supercar buyers sit up and ask themselves what it was, really, that made a car super at all especially when the family sedan in the other lane just wiped the floor with their mid-engined exotic.

The Tesla Model S quickly became the car to have if you wanted the fastest car on the block, or wanted to be seen as a forward thinker. The virtue signaling of electrification and environmental responsibility was a bonus.

Photoshop is our friend. Photo and slight modification by Chanan Bos, CleanTechnica.

Fast forward to 2022, and just about every carmaker bar Honda and Mazda have committed to majority electric or all-electric lineups by the next decade, Tesla is the most valuable carmaker on Earth (worth more than the next several automakers combined), and even the blue chips like Ford are looking for ways to run their companies like Tesla.

And, yes, its noteworthy that none of those automakers not a one can build the millions of electric cars theyll need to stay profitable without a bunch of rare natural resources. It is also true that Ukraine has an abundance of the very kind of natural resources that the EV revolution needs.

Gallium, titanium, lithium, rare earths it seems like theres a lot worth fighting over in the Ukraine especially if youre the kind of person who values the upward trajectory of your stock portfolio over decency or human life. And, while some companies are bending over backwards to ensure their EV materials are ethically sourced and part of a closed-loop system to minimize their long-term environmental impact others are not.

But, again, those minerals have always been there and the calculus of the past, at least, balanced out against invasion. That may have changed, and a trillion-dollar valuation may have had something to do with that.

On the topic of lithium, The Indian Express writes, Ukrainian researchers have speculated that the countrys eastern region holds close to 500,000 tons of lithium oxide, a source of lithium, which is critical to the production of the batteries that power electric vehicles. That preliminary assessment, if it holds, would make Ukraines lithium reserves one of the largest in the world.

Late last year, Ukraine started to auction off exploration permits to develop its lithium reserves, as well as copper, cobalt and nickel. All are natural resources that play critical roles in the clean energy technology essential to the shift away from fossil fuels that scientists say is necessary to ward off the worst consequences of climate change.

Ukraines potential for lithium production had started to attract global attention. In November, European Lithium, an Australian firm, said it was in the process of securing rights to two promising lithium deposits in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine, and Kirovograd, in the center of the country. The company said at the time it aimed to become Europes largest lithium supplier.

The same month, the Chinese company Chengxin Lithium also applied for rights to lithium deposits in Donetsk and Kirovograd, according to news media reports, a move that would give it its first foothold in Europe. Neither company responded to requests for comment.

Do you think a 17-year-old Elon Musk moving to Canada so he could avoid conscription in the South African army (which, while were here, seems like it was the right thing to do) was the starting domino in a long chain of events that would eventually see Vladimir Putin order Russian troops to march on Ukraine, or is this just another example of whatever it was that Jeff Goldblums character was going on about in Jurassic Park?

Image from IMDB.

Scroll on down to the comments section and let us know what you think. But please note: youll get a lot more imaginary internet bonus points by including a meme in the comments. Enjoy!

Original content from CleanTechnica.

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Would Russia Be Invading Ukraine Right Now If Elon Musk Hadnt Shifted The Course Of Automotive History? - CleanTechnica

Elon Musk took the suit out of his wardrobe for the occasion.

It's a sign, if there was any doubt, that this road trip is not like the others.

The billionaire, installed in the passenger seat of the car, wears a black suit and a black tie over a white shirt.

His neighbor who occupies the driver's seat also wears a dark suit but a little lighter than Musk's. He also wears a tie over a blue shirt and glasses.

The two men appear to be deep in conversation, the subject of which appears to be the capabilities of the car, a Tesla (TSLA) - Get Tesla Inc ReportS Plaid sedan.

Except that the passenger is not an average driver.

He is Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States. It is also the diplomat who shared photos of this car trip between the two men on his Twitter account.

The trip took place on March 4.

The diplomat does not give any information on the route and the duration of this road trip.

"Had an inspiring talk with @elonmusk today on cars on the road, stars in the sky, research of human brain, meaning of life on earth and our future into the space," Qin Gang wrote. "Look up and think beyond."

In a second tweet, the diplomat gives his impression of this car trip, which he seems to have greatly appreciated.

"Took a ride in a @Tesla Model S Plaid on #autopilot. Powerful model, but smooth ride!"

The road trip between the two men reflects the closeness between Tesla, Elon Musk and China.

Musk, who has an extremely cold relationship with U.S. President Joe Biden, does not hide his ties with the Chinese authorities.

China is a crucial market for the manufacturer of luxury electric vehicles.

The company's Gigafactory in Shanghai has become the epicenter of the production of the Model 3 and Y, the entry-level sedan and SUV from which the American company, that wants to move its headquarters from California to Austin, Texas, hopes to conquer the world.

Tesla aims to at least double its production capacity in this factory which can currently produce roughly 850,000 cars per year.

Last year, more than half of the 936,172 cars delivered by Tesla worldwide were produced in Shanghai.

The Chinese authorities have reserved special treatment for Tesla.

The automaker is one of the few foreign vehicle manufacturers that Beijing did not require to form a joint venture to enter the Chinese market.

This free pass allowed Tesla to take advantage of tax credits, cheap land and low-interest loans granted in particular by Beijing to encourage the population to embrace electric vehicles, while other cities in the country have pollution rates among the highest in the world

From Volkswagen (VLKAF) to GM (GM) - Get General Motors Company Report, most automotive groups wishing to sell or produce cars in China have been forced to enter into partnerships with local players.

Musk's relationship with China is complicated, however.

The billionaire has been under pressure since China urges foreign companies to keep all data collected on their local customers in the country.

Tesla must also seek the green light from the authorities before making updates to certain software in its cars in China.

In an attempt to soften the authorities, Musk does not hesitate to sing their praises.

"The economic prosperity that China has achieved is truly amazing, especially in infrastructure! I encourage people to visit and see for themselves," he wrote on June 30 to his millions of followers on Twitter.

This did not prevent China from accusing SpaceX, another company founded by Musk, of threatening the safety of Chinas space station with its satellites.

The accusation made last December concluded an already turbulent year for Musk in the most populous country in the world.

Last spring, protesters claiming that Tesla cars were posed a danger to consumers attempted to block entry to the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition.

In June, Tesla had to recall 300,000 Model 3 and Model Y cars due to a technical glitch.

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Elon Musk and a Top Chinese Diplomat Take a Ride - TheStreet

Representational image

Tech billionaire Elon Musk-led SpaceX launched 646 Starlink satellites in 2021, marking a 48.9% increase in its March 2021 satellite population of 1,322, according to a report.

In the past 18 months, the space firm has grown its broadband satellites by 185%, revealed data analysis by financial educational hub StockApps.com

It targets up to 60 million rural and far-flung American populations. Globally, it has set sights on areas with poor broadband connections.

"The increase in Starlink satellites brings more areas under internet coverage. Now more areas that have lacked access before will be able to tap into high-speed and reliable internet. The implications can only be mind-blowing," Edith Reads, a fintech expert, wrote in a blogpost on StockApps.com.

The core of the SpaceX Starlink internet project is a low latency broadband system tailored for global consumer needs.

A collection of low orbiting Earth satellites will support Starlink in providing fast and dependable data where there's poor to zero connectivity.

Starlink's most recent application has been in Ukraine. The system has enabled the besieged country to continue accessing the net as it battles a Russian invasion.

Starlink is currently approved to expand its constellation to 12,000 satellites, though SpaceX has applied to launch a further 30,000.

**

The above article has been published from a wire agency with minimal modifications to the headline and text.

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Elon Musk's SpaceX Launched 646 Satellites in 2021 As Part of Starlink Internet Project: Report | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather...

UFC commentator and podcast host, Joe Rogan has taken the internet by storm yet again. The widely popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, featured one of the most subscribed and highest-paid YouTubers of 2021, MrBeast.

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The YouTuber raked in $54 million USD in the previous year, as per Forbes. Now, in talks with Joe Rogan, he revealed his potential plans for his future. Moreover, he even suggested he might follow Elon Musks footsteps and stated, I do, in a way, see it a little bit as like Elons PayPal.

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DIVE DEEPER

Why Does YouTube Sensation MrBeast Give Away Massive Sums of Money?

2 months ago

The Joe Rogan Experiences latest podcast starred one of YouTube and the content communitys most famous personalities, Jimmy MrBeast Donaldson.

Earlier this year, Joe Rogan had praised MrBeast and Dr Disrespect in an episode of the Tim Dillon Show. Now, continuing down the same line, the podcast host continues to commend him on his massive achievements. Interestingly, Joe Rogan asked MrBeast some unique questions regarding what the future hold for the YouTuber.

Do you have like a grand vision? I sort of asked you this before, but like, when you think of your future, do you have an idea in your head of where you would like all this to go to? Because it seems like the worlds your oyster, you could kind of keep going and do whatever you want. Like do you have a vision?

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And to say MrBeast had an amusing answer is an understatement. He likens himself to the CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musks strategy with PayPal, and suggests he might follow a similar path.

I do, in a way, see it a little bit as like Elons PayPal. Like, you know, maybe when Im 30 and if Im not doing YouTube anymore, Id move, take the money and move on to the next business. Like Tesla, SpaceX, and stuff like that.

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Thankfully, there is no reason for MrBeasts fans to worry. He revealed that his obsession with YouTube continues to pertain and he does not plan to quit anytime soon. He added that he wished to make content on the red platform for ten more years.

Watch this Story:Nintendo Equips Animal Crossing: New Horizons with A Massive March Update

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MrBeast Leaves Joe Rogan Amazed With Bold Ambition Inspired by Elon Musk - EssentiallySports

Elon Musk said Saturday SpaceX's Starlink satellites had been activated in Ukraine, with more terminals en route.

Driving the news: Ukrainian officials requested Musk's help in using his company's commercial internet network after the Russian military's unprovoked military invasion left parts of the country offline.

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Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted to Musk Saturday, "while you try to colonize Mars Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand."

Musk said in response to Federov, who's also digital transformation minister, "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route."

What to watch: Users on the ground in Ukraine won't be able to access Starlink's signal without their own special receivers the "terminals" Musk referred to in his tweet.

Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

Original post:

Elon Musk says SpaceXs Starlink satellites active over ...

Starlink is now active in Ukraine, Elon Musk announced afterUkraines vice prime minister on Saturday requested the SpaceX billionaire helpthe embattled country with communication satellites.

Starlink service is now active in Ukraine,Musk tweetedabout 10 hours after the call for help. More terminals en route.

The response came after Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked for the controversial business magnate for Starlink stations.

@elonmusk, while you try to colonize Mars Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! Fedorov, also the countrys Ministry of Digital Transformation, tweeted We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.

Musks response also came as Ukrainefaced a third day of assaults from Russiaand troops continued their assault on Kyiv.

Musk has via SpaceX launched thousands of Starlink satellites into Earths orbit, increasing broadband service in parts of the world. The satellites help carry large amounts of information rapidly to any point on Earth, avoiding the need for fiber-optic cables.

The satellites could provide data links to areas of Ukraine that have lost internet access during the war. Russias assaults on cities across Ukraine have left parts of the country with internet outages.

Russiasfull-fledged war on Ukraine beganWednesdaywhen Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation.

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Elon Musk activates Starlink in Ukraine

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his space company's Starlink satellite internet service is available in Ukraine and more terminals to use it are on the way.

Musk made the statement on Twitter Saturday (Feb. 26) after being asked by a Ukrainian government official if SpaceX could provide more Starlink services to the country after Russian troops invaded Ukraine last week. Internet services in Ukraine has seen "significant disruptions" in the capital city of Kyiv and across much of the country due to Russian military operations and the ensuing fighting, the monitoring group Netblocks reported on Thursday (Feb. 24).

"@ElonMusk, while you try to colonize Mars Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who is also the country's minister of digital transformation, asked Musk on Twitter Saturday.

"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," Musk replied. "More terminals en route."

Related: SpaceX's Starlink satellite megaconstellation launches in photos

SpaceX's Starlink service offers high-speed broadband access via a massive constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit and is designed to ultimately provide coverage anywhere on Earth, with a focus on remote areas or underserved regions. Starlink users access the space-based internet service using a satellite dish placed on or near the location where service is needed.

Musk and SpaceX recently sent 50 Starlink terminals to the island nation of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean to provide free internet access to help reconnect remote villages there after a massive volcano eruption and tsunami in January, according to Reuters. The Starlink terminals will help restore communications with some of the hardest hit regions from the natural disaster.

Since 2019, SpaceX has launched over 2,000 of the satellites for the constellation, which is expected to reach up to 14,000 in its initial form. The company's most recent launch occurred on Friday (Feb. 25), when SpaceX lofted 50 new Starlink satellites into orbit from a pad at California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.

SpaceX's next Starlink mission is expected to lift off later this week on Thursday (March 3) from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Email Tariq Malik attmalik@space.comor follow him@tariqjmalik. Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookandInstagram.

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Elon Musk says SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet ...

Elon Musk acknowledged that SpaceX delivered to Ukraine terminals that connect to the company's Starlink satellite-based internet service.

Over the weekend, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., which Mr. Musk founded, said the service would be available in Ukraine, and he promised to deliver more terminals. On Monday, Mykhailo Fedorov, the minister of digital transformation for Ukraine, said in a tweet that Starlink terminals had arrived. He posted a photograph to Twitter that appeared to show boxes for the devices in a truck and thanked Mr. Musk.

You are most welcome, Mr. Musk responded.

SpaceX didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. SpaceX has been building out its Starlink service, which uses a fleet of satellites to provide high-speed broadband service in markets around the globe. It wasn't clear how SpaceX got the terminals into Ukraine.

"I wish I could say more," Mr. Musk told trade publication SpaceNews. "But, yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Strange that SpaceX can do this.

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Elon Musk to Ukraine, After SpaceX Terminals Arrive: 'You Are Most Welcome' - The Wall Street Journal

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in an email exchange with CNBC on Tuesday, accused President Joe Biden of ignoring his electric vehicle company in favor of paying more attention to legacy auto makers.

But he also sought to assure White House officials who are concerned that he would do or say something embarrassing if he were invited to speak at a White House event.

"They have nothing to worry about," Musk said. "I would do the right thing."

Musk's comments came after CNBC contacted him regarding fresh reporting that Biden and the White House have no immediate plans to invite Musk to potential upcoming meetings with corporate leaders. The people who spoke to CNBC about how the White House regards Musk declined to be named in order to speak freely about private conversations.

Joe Biden, left, and Elon Musk

Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters; Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"The notion of a feud is not quite right. Biden has pointedly ignored Tesla at every turn and falsely stated to the public that GM leads the electric car industry, when in fact Tesla produced over 300,000 electric vehicles last quarter and GM produced 26," Musk said in the email.

Tesla announced in January that it produced and delivered over 300,000 vehicles globally in the fourth quarter. General Motors reported U.S. sales of 26 electric vehicles, including one Hummer pickup and 25 Bolt EV models during the fourth quarter.

GM recently announced it was extending its production halt of their Chevrolet Bolt EV until early April but it plans to resume retail sales soon. The company has said that it plans to spend $35 billion on electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025.

For the first time in his presidency, Biden in February acknowledged Tesla'sstatus as the nation's largest producer of electric vehicles.

Musk and the White House have been at odds since the start of the Biden administration as the president pushes for infrastructure reform and tries to encourage vehicle companies to go green.

GM CEO Mary Barra said, standing next to Biden in January, said the company wants to invest $7 billion into Michigan to "further our EV manufacturing." GM is headquartered in Detroit. Musk at the time responded to Barra and Biden's comments by tweeting, "Starts with a T, Ends with an A, ESL in the middle."

"It got to the point, hilariously, where no one in the administration was even allowed to say the word 'Tesla'! The public outrage and media pressure about that statement forced him to admit that Tesla does in fact lead the EV industry. I wouldn't exactly call that 'praise,'" Musk said in the Tuesday email.

A White House spokesperson praised Tesla on Tuesday in an email to CNBC: "Tesla has done extraordinary things for electric vehicles and that's a big part of why the whole industry now knows EVs are the future."

The White House representative also took aim at Musk. "Tesla also benefited greatly from past EV tax credits, but unfortunately, their CEO has suggested an opposition to new EV tax credits," the representative said.

Musk has also mocked Biden on occasion. Once he said Biden was "still sleeping," effectively mirroring former President Donald Trump's "Sleepy Joe" insults.

Some in the administration have privately called Musk names, such as "a--hole," for what he has said about Biden, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

"I have nothing against Biden otherwise, apart from general concern about more deficit spending, which would apply to any president, and actively supported the Obama-Biden election," Musk told CNBC on Tuesday.

Data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics shows Musk contributed just over $30,000 to the Democratic National Committee during the 2012 election cycle when former President Barack Obama and then Vice President Biden were fighting Republican candidate Mitt Romney for reelection. He also gave over $2,500 directly to Obama's presidential campaign that cycle.

Musk did not give to Biden's campaign when he ran for president in 2020. He voiced support for businessman and Democratic candidate Andrew Yang instead. He recently contributed to the Republican National Committee.

Musk, who also runs space exploration company SpaceX, has a net worth of over $220 billion, according to Forbes.

Biden and senior White House officials have privately signaled to their allies that they have no immediate plans to invite Musk to any upcoming meetings with senior executives, according to people familiar with the matter. These people declined to be named in order to speak freely about private conversations.

Musk has berated the president on Twitter, including as recently as late January after Biden met with General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley in a briefing with other corporate leaders to discuss the president's Build Back Better initiative, which has stalled in Congress. Musk, in a tweet, called Biden a "damp sock puppet in human form."

When asked at the time by CNBC about Musk's absence, Brian Deese, Biden's top economic advisor, said: "When it comes to electric vehicles, we want the United States to be the place where the electric vehicle revolution is driven. And where we gain more of the global export share and we're creating more good jobs here in America. So that's not not about any one individual company."

Behind the scenes, the president and his team are aggravated with Musk's criticism, according to more than half a dozen people familiar with the matter.

Biden's advisors have privately pushed back against inviting Musk to future industry events, as they are concerned the outspoken executive will say something that could embarrass the president or the administration, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

When asked about this, Musk first replied with an email featuring two "roll on the floor laughing" emojis. Then he followed up by saying the White House shouldn't worry about him doing anything outlandish.

A person close to the president told CNBC that there was a push to bring Musk to the table to discuss the president's $1 trillion infrastructure package since the executive had founded a tunnel-digging firm called the Boring Company.

Some in the White House, including climate advisor Ali Zaid, believe only unionized car companies, such as GM and Ford, should be meeting with Biden and senior administration officials, some of these people explained.

The White House pushed back on this characterization.

"Ali Zaidi has meteveryautomaker at least once including Tesla, several many times. President Biden is focused on creating good union jobs across the country and believes firmly that every worker in every state must have a free and fair choice to join a union and the right to bargain collectively with their employer," the spokesperson said.

Tesla is not unionized and Musk has taken on the United Auto Workers union through his Twitter account. The UAW endorsed Biden for president during the previous election fight.

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Elon Musk accuses Biden of ignoring Tesla, but says he would 'do the right thing' if invited to White House - CNBC