Former Vice President Kamala Harris has publicly criticized Joe Biden’s decision to exclude Elon Musk from a 2021 White House event on electric vehicles, calling the move a “big mistake.”
Harris made the comments Tuesday during Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., where she discussed her new memoir 107 Days and reflected on policy missteps from the administration she once served, as reported by The New York Post.
“I write in the book that I thought it was a big mistake to not invite Elon Musk when we did a big EV event,” Harris said in her interview with Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell. “I mean, here he is, the major American manufacturer of extraordinary innovation in this space.”
In August 2021, Biden hosted executives from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler parent company Stellantis to promote a goal of making half of all new vehicles sold by 2030 zero-emission.
Tesla — the nation’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer — was not invited. Then–White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at the time that the event featured “the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers,” a pointed reference to Tesla’s non-unionized workforce.
When pressed on whether the omission was intentional, Psaki replied, “I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.”
Musk, whose company produced more electric vehicles than all three automakers combined, reacted on X, writing, “Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited.” Weeks later, he called the Biden administration “not the friendliest” and said it appeared “controlled by unions.”
Harris told the Fortune audience that political loyalty should never override acknowledgment of innovation. “I thought that was a mistake, and I don’t know Elon Musk, but I have to assume that that was something that hit him hard and had an impact on his perspective,” she said.
Her comments echo a passage in 107 Days, where she writes that the administration’s decision alienated Musk, who later became one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent financial backers.
During the 2024 election cycle, Musk contributed nearly $300 million to Republican-aligned political groups, including America PAC, which supported President Trump’s reelection effort.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Tesla officials sought multiple meetings with the White House after the 2021 inauguration but were repeatedly rebuffed amid union pressure.
After learning Tesla would be excluded from the event, administration officials reportedly called the company to apologize.
A month later, Biden credited GM’s CEO Mary Barra with having “electrified the entire automobile industry,” a remark that angered Musk, whose company had delivered over 115,000 electric vehicles in the United States that same quarter, compared with GM’s 26,000.
White House aides later attempted to repair the relationship by arranging calls between Musk and senior officials, though tensions remained.
At the Fortune event, Harris also criticized early Biden administration priorities, saying the White House focused too heavily on infrastructure and semiconductor legislation rather than addressing immediate economic pressures.
“When we made the decision as an administration to put the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS Act first, I actually think that was a mistake,” she said. “Very important work, no question, but we did that before putting the immediate needs ahead of anything else.”
Her remarks come as Biden, now 82, undergoes radiation and hormone therapy for Stage 4 prostate cancer. He was seen Saturday leaving evening Mass in Wilmington, Delaware, marking his first public appearance since treatment began.
Aides said his condition is “high-grade” but hormone-sensitive.
The Post has sought comment from both Biden and Musk regarding Harris’s statements.
