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WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk met 2 apical White House officials connected Friday successful Washington to sermon however the car shaper and Democratic President Joe Biden could enactment unneurotic to beforehand electrical conveyance accumulation and velocity electrification of U.S. conveyance networks.
Musk met John Podesta, a Democratic stalwart who serves arsenic Biden's elder advisor for cleanable vigor innovation, and Mitch Landrieu, who oversees infrastructure spending, a White House spokesperson told Reuters.
"John Podesta and Mitch Landrieu met with Elon Musk to sermon shared goals astir electrification and however the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act tin beforehand electrical conveyance accumulation and charging arsenic good arsenic the broader origin of electrification," the White House spokesperson said.
Musk responded connected Twitter to a nexus to an earlier mentation of this communicative with "True."
A Reuters witnesser connected Friday saw Podesta, Landrieu and Musk entering a downtown gathering that houses some Tesla's Washington lobbying cognition and the Center for American Progress, a deliberation vessel Podesta founded. Landrieu and Podesta near astir fractional an hr aboriginal and did not reply questions.
Musk near astir 45 minutes aft Podesta and Landrieu. He excessively ignored questions from a Reuters reporter.
BIDEN, MUSK TENSIONS
Relations person often seemed antagonistic betwixt Biden, who has pushed for companies to usage national labor, and Musk, who has pushed to support unions retired of his factories.
Musk called Biden "a damp sock puppet successful quality form" past twelvemonth aft Biden highlighted EV accumulation by GM and Ford successful a tweet but near retired Tesla.
Biden lone publically acknowledged the relation of Tesla successful U.S. electrical conveyance manufacturing implicit a twelvemonth aft taking office, aft Musk repeatedly complained astir being ignored.
In June, Biden compared Tesla unfavorably to Ford and sarcastically wished Musk "lots of luck" connected his "trip to the moon" aft the billionaire expressed reservations astir the economy.
Still, Musk has long-standing important relationships with the U.S. government, and those person continued nether the Biden administration.
Tesla has benefited from taxation subsidies fixed to buyers of its electrical vehicles portion SpaceX, Musk's rocket company, has contracts worthy billions of dollars to present astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station, and to physique a satellite lander.
U.S. consumers who bought Teslas became eligible again this period for up to $7,500 successful user taxation credits, nether the $430 cardinal U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed past August. An earlier taxation recognition for Tesla buyers expired aft the automaker sold its archetypal 200,000 vehicles successful the United States.
The instrumentality imposes requirements that EVs receiving the taxation credits indispensable beryllium North American-made. There are besides caps connected conveyance prices and income for buyers who are eligible for the credits.
The instrumentality besides sets caller artillery sourcing restrictions expected to instrumentality effect successful March. It besides includes caller U.S. artillery accumulation credits that Musk said earlier this week could person important benefits to the company.
Reporting by Nandita Bose, David Shepardson and Raphael Satter; Editing by Heather Timmons, David Gregorio and Rosalba O'Brien
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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