What Would Happen If Biden Acknowledged Tesla?

What would happen if President Biden actually acknowledged Tesla’s EV leadership? I think it would be a good thing not just for Tesla, but for all other automakers. For me, it’s about trust and integrity. However, some may not agree with me and that’s okay. I saw a post in Reddit today that shared the perspective from a Tesla investor that I felt needed to be heard and respectfully addressed. It’s always good to hear all sides of a story or debate.

Reddit user KarmaKill23 shared an interesting perspective and thought as to why they don’t want President Biden acknowledging Tesla. The fact that President Biden has been completely ignoring Tesla’s progress while pumping up General Motors hasn’t gone unnoticed by many of Tesla’s supporters online, and even by the mainstream media.

I’ve written about it and have been very vocal in Tesla’s support right here on CleanTechnica, and although I don’t fully agree with the poster’s stance that it’s a bad idea, there are some points that I do agree with — not just in the original post, but also in the comments.

The Reddit post reads:

“So the hot TSLA news of the week is a wave of sentiment that the administration should Acknowledge TSLA’s lead in the EV Space. See here and here.

“As the title says, I think this is a bad idea. From an Investor Standpoint and a Philosophical Standpoint.

“Philosophy Standpoint
There is no world where TSLA getting pulled into the spotlight is good. The best-case scenario is they get the acknowledgment people are looking for and then that is used to guilt them into becoming effectively a branch of the government. Guarantee you if this administration acknowledges TSLA, that speech would end with ‘and it is TSLA’s duty to share and help our Union Autoworkers into the future blah blah blah’. That’s the best case.

“The worse case, and more likely imo, is this pressure will cause this administration to double down on anti-TSLA sentiment, maybe even take more direct measures to counter TSLA’s growth.

“And just to bring this home. Imagine a world where the administration acknowledges TSLA’s lead in earnest, Build Back Better is adjusted to give TSLA advantages for already being all-electric, and TSLA simply explodes to 2k because everyone just accepts the status quo. Yeah, I see hell freezing over too.

“Investor Standpoint
This is easy. TSLA will have a better rally if all this drama goes quiet. Let the suckers keep thinking GM and Ford are catching up. Let this Administration keep pretending. A stock flies when it surprises people so the longer we keep quiet and let the naysayers live in lala land, the harder the pop when the bread comes out of the oven.

“In short, I don’t think this wave of pressure to thrust TSLA into a political spotlight is a good idea. Let TSLA keep doing what it’s doing. Let the work speak for itself.”

I think it’s always good to listen to all sides of thought or topic as long as they are civil and respectful. That said, KarmaKill23 has some pretty solid points. What if the administration could double down on Tesla to the point that it actually counters the company’s growth? We already see that with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s pettiness over naming over-the-air updates as recalls. I’ve said this before but if there is a recall for every OTA update eventually the NHTSA will see it as the child crying wolf and an actual safety recall could go ignored by consumers thinking that it’s an easy fix. I digress.

In an article by Jalopnik covering the petition for President Biden to acknowledge Tesla’s EV leadership, the author claims that Tesla fans are “really deep in their feelings” and that having a “lock on the whole electric vehicle market with over 60% market share isn’t enough.” The article goes on to say that this is the need for official recognition is the actual basis for the petition when it isn’t. The petition, which now has over 50,000 signatures, clearly states:

“The White House and the Biden Administration have intentionally been trying to ignore Tesla’s hard work while propping up GM and others as ‘EV Leaders.’ They have snubbed Tesla on behalf of UAW citing that the EV events were for UAW.”

So it’s not about official recognition but more about not lying to the public — at least, that’s how I read it. And this is why I feel that Tesla does deserve recognition. However, a response to KarmaKill23’s post by Grape_Fluids pointed out:

“Like you, Cathie Wood likes to say ‘in the end, the truth always wins’. I have to agree.

“The fact that the president isn’t acknowledging Tesla as the true leader in the EV space honestly doesn’t mean much to us Tesla investors over the long-term. Wall Street cares about revenue and profits, not the president’s vocabulary.

“Although Biden acknowledging Tesla could’ve given us a small bump over the short-term, which one of us really cares about the short-term?

“Further, Biden not acknowledging Tesla says less about Tesla but more about himself and politicians as a whole. It’s so sad that true innovation is not applauded in this country, because there is not always a political incentive to do so. Politics is such a deceitful game, that’s why the majority of Americans are fed up with it.”

The truth does always have its way of coming out. I think both KarmaKill23 and Grape_Fluids make valid points and I also think that Tesla should be acknowledged simply because it’s the truth. Tesla’s part in accelerating the transition to sustainability shouldn’t be ignored by our nation’s leaders.

Personally, I don’t care if Biden likes Tesla or prefers Ford or GM to a Tesla. Everyone has the right to their own preference. But we can’t be mad at Trump for promoting Goya in the White House but be cool with Biden claiming GM is the leader and giving GM the credit for the work Tesla has done.

The Reddit post and thread are a good read for those interested in hearing many sides. Most of the comments, from what I saw, were in favor of President Biden being truthful about Tesla’s contributions toward EVs and sustainability.