The White House tweeted out “The future of the auto industry is electric — and made in America.”
The irony is that in June Tesla edged out Ford to become the most American-made car. And Tesla’s Model 3 made it to the top spot based on its assembly location (California). And it uses 55% domestically sourced parts including the engine and transmission. And of course, it’s a largely USA-based workforce.
Ford had the Mach-E built in Mexico. And GM’s Chevy Bolt gets 75% of its parts, including the hi-dollar batteries, imported from South Korea.
Biden is supposed to sign an executive order setting a national goal that half of all new cars and trucks be electric or zero-emission by 2030. Tesla only makes electric vehicles.
Tesla, the new kid on the block, has been around for only 17 years. But the company excluded from the event has made the most dramatic progress on Biden’s stated agenda.
The invited automakers represented only about 5% of electric-car sales in the United States in 2019. Both GM and Ford EV manufacturing plants are still “in development.”