Biden wishes Elon Musk 'lots of luck' on Moon after his grim outlook on economy

Tesla CEO Elon Musk told his employees he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and needs to cut about 10% of salaried staff at the electric carmaker, reported Reuters.

Published on: Jun 4, 2022, 08:27:38 IST

AFP | By HT News Desk | Edited by Kunal Gaurav

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There seems to have been no love lost between US President Joe Biden and billionaire Elon Musk as the former wished the SpaceX founder "lots of luck" on the Moon for his pessimism about the American economy down on Earth. A Reuters report citing an email from Elon Musk to Tesla employees said that the company's chief executive has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and needs to cut about 10% of salaried staff at the electric carmaker.

US President Joe Biden speaks about the May jobs report. (AP)

Musk said Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10%, as it has become "overstaffed in many areas," reported Reuters.

"Note, this does not apply to anyone actually building cars, battery packs or installing solar," Musk wrote, according to Reuters.

When asked for a reaction to Musk's reported comment, Biden pointed to growth among Tesla rivals.

"Let me tell you, while Elon Musk is talking about that, Ford is increasing their investment overwhelmingly," Biden said.

"The former Chrysler corporation, Stellantis, they are also making similar investments in electric vehicles," he said.

"So, you know, lots of luck on his trip to the Moon," Biden said of Musk, whose SpaceX has been picked by Nasa to build the lander for a Moon trip.

Musk, who has been critical of Democrats lately, recently said that he will now vote for Republicans, accusing them of shifting extreme left on political ideology.

"In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican, (sic)" he tweeted.

The world's richest man had also shared his opinion on Biden's election to the White House.

“Biden’s mistake is that he thinks he was elected to transform the country, but actually everyone just wanted less drama."

(With inputs from Reuters, AFP)

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