In August 2021, Biden was hosting an electric vehicle event at the White House that featured executives from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis—but not Musk, even though his company exclusively makes EVs.
During the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Harris was reminded about the snub, which also comes up in her new book 107 Days.
“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,” she told Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell. “I mean, here he is, the major American manufacturer of extraordinary innovation in this space.”
The non-invitation to Musk was widely seen as a nod to the United Auto Workers and organized labor overall, a key constituency in the Democratic Party. That’s because Tesla plants aren’t unionized.
Al Drago—Bloomberg via Getty Images
On Tuesday, Harris said U.S. presidents should “put aside political loyalties” when it comes to recognizing a technological innovation that should be a source of pride for Americans.
“So, 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 added.
In fact, Musk did appear upset, tweeting at the time, “Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited.” And a month later, he blasted Biden as “not the friendliest administration.”
Musk continued to hound Biden after other perceived slights and even complained that Biden’s Build Back Better plan included “unnecessary” investment in electric charging stations and suggested the U.S. government “get rid of all subsidies.”
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Musk eventually became a staunch backer of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and of other Republican candidates in the 2024 election, contributing nearly $300 million to the GOP.
Jim Watson—AFP via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Harris admitted the Biden administration made another error by not making Americans’ most pressing needs, such as affordable childcare or paid family leave, its top legislative priority.
“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.”
If Americans don’t have their immediate needs met, Harris added, they can’t focus on other issues or have confidence in their government or a political party.
Indeed, despite the trillions of federal dollars that were committed or spent to boost local economies, voters blamed Biden and Harris for high inflation that raised the cost living as food, housing, healthcare and other necessities got more expensive.
“And if we can’t meet the basic needs of the people, there will be this backlash, which is going to resonate and sound like it is about ‘blame the rich,'” Harris warned. “But really, I think at its core, it’s about, ‘we need help for our basic needs, and please prioritize those needs.‘”
