San Francisco: Taking on US President Joe Biden, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that America does not need his administration’s ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure bill, or any of the government subsidies.
Speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO summit late on Monday, Musk said: “We’ve spent so much money.. The federal budget deficit is insane. I would say… can the whole (infrastructure) bill. Don’t pass it, that’s my recommendation.
“Just delete them all”.
In November, Biden signed a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law after months of delay amid Democratic infighting over a social spending package.
The bill includes $550 billion in new spending on infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, passenger rails, drinking water and wastewater systems.
The rest of the infrastructure package involves previously approved spending.
Musk further said that Tesla has been selling its electric cars for more than a year in the US without the $7,500 federal tax credit, without taking a demand hit.
He added that the US government should not be giving out subsidies to expand EV charging infrastructure either.
“Do we need support for gas stations? We don’t. So there’s no need for this,” Musk said.
Tesla currently operates more than 3,000 charging stations with around 30,000 connectors globally.
Musk’s electric car company has officially moved its headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas.
Tesla will continue to operate its electric vehicle factory in Fremont, California, and increase production there by 50 per cent.