Can It: Elon Musk Rips Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Bill, Calls on Senate to Not Pass It

16:38 GMT, 7 December 2021

Max Gorbachev

Earlier this year, the Biden administration snubbed Tesla, the best-selling manufacturer of electric vehicles in the United States, by not inviting it to the clean car summit organised by the White House. No explanation was provided, but experts suggest it was due to Tesla’s anti-union stance.

Sputnik

Tech maverick Elon Musk has criticised Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill, calling on the Senate to not pass it. Addressing the audience at the CEO Council, organised by The Wall Street Journal, the entrepreneur voiced his concerns about how the $1.75 trillion bill would affect the US federal budget deficit.

"We’ve spent so much money, the federal budget deficit is insane. It’s like $3 trillion. Federal expenditures are $7 trillion. Federal revenues are $3 trillion. If it was a company, it would be a $3 trillion dollar loss. I don’t know we should be adding to that loss. Something's gotta give. You can’t just spend $3 trillion more than you own every year and don’t expect something bad to happen", Musk said.

The Tesla CEO argued that the government should "get out of the way and not impede progress", noting that authorities should not act as a "player on the field", but a "referee".

"Rules and regulations are immortal. They don't die. The vast majority of rules and regulations live forever ... there's not really an effective garbage collection system for removing rules and regulations, so this hardens the arteries of civilization where you are able to do less and less over time. Honestly, I would just can this whole bill. Don't pass it. That's my recommendation", Musk said.

The massive $1.75 trillion social spending package covers a range of issues, including measures to combat climate change. According to local media, the bill contains a plan to halve greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 in order to achieve net zero by 2050, as well as investments worth $555 billion for clean energy, including incentives worth $12,500 intended both for companies producing electric vehicles and the individuals who buy them.

Companies may get $4,500 of this sum, but only if their workforce is unionised. Musk is known for his anti-union stance and claims that working conditions at Tesla are the best in the United States.

His opinion has long been at odds with the Democrats. The entrepreneur, in his turn, often criticises United Auto Workers (UAW), a large union in the US representing automotive industry workers, which he claims fights “for their right to steal money from workers” as well as POTUS, whom he described as a “sock puppet” of UAW.