President Trump had a few words to say about Tesla (TSLA) and its CEO, Elon Musk, on Thursday, at the signing of congressional resolutions targeting California’s regulations on the adoption of electric vehicles.
Trump touted that his administration abolished the federal government’s EV initiative shortly after taking office.
“Now we know why Elon doesn’t like me so much — which he does actually, he does,” Trump said.
The president said he once asked Musk why he was backing him if he knew his administration would abolish EV mandates in the US.
“He said, ‘Well, as long as it’s happening to everybody, I’ll be able to compete,'” said Trump. “After that, he got a little strange.”
Musk has been Trump’s biggest backer until the two recently had a very public fallout.
“We officially rescue the US auto industry from destruction by terminating to California electric vehicle mandate once and for all,” Trump said.
California’s initiative, which included the phase-out of gas-powered cars by 2025, was adopted by a series of other states.
“They passed these crazy rules in California,” Trump said, indicating 17 other states followed California.
“The automakers didn’t know what to do because they’re really building cars for two countries,” Trump added.
The president said that under the previous regime, car prices skyrocketed because of the mandates, also putting pressure on the power grid. He said drivers can still get any car they want.
“A lot of people love electric cars,” Trump said. “They like Tesla. In all fairness, I like Tesla, … but I also love combustion engines.”
