SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the U.S. Congress should not approve the Biden administration’s bill to boost subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs), saying the proposal would worsen the country’s budget deficit.
The billionaire entrepreneur is escalating criticism about the administration and Democrats for a proposal to give union-made, U.S.-built electric vehicles an additional $4,500 tax incentive. Tesla and foreign automakers do not have unions at their U.S. factories.
“Honestly, it might be better if the bill doesn’t pass,” Musk said at the WSJ CEO Council Summit.
“I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies,” he said, adding that the government should I think just try to get out of the way and not impede progress.”
He also reiterated opposition to a proposal by Democrats to tax billionaires. “It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill … and give it to, you know, an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government.”
Musk also said his brain-chip startup, Neuralink hopes to begin human trials next year pending approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “I think we have a chance with Neuralink of being able to restore full body functionality to someone who has a spinal cord injury.”
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Sandra Maler)
