Topline
Jeff Skoll, an eBay billionaire who was among the biggest donors to Joe Biden’s 2020 election campaign, tore into Biden in a Saturday social media post for his treatment of Tesla, the American electric vehicle giant helmed by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who Bloomberg reported Friday donated to a super political action committee backing former President Donald Trump.
Elon Musk appears at the White House in 2017.
Key Facts
In a lengthy post to Musk’s X platform, Skoll ripped Biden for “purposely” shunning Tesla early in his presidential term, claiming the “slap in the face” to by far the most prolific U.S.-based electric vehicle producer was because Tesla isn’t unionized, and calling on Biden to “stop persecuting our entrepreneurs” like Musk.
Musk replied to the post with “Thanks Jeff 🙏,” and the relationship between the “dear friends” dates back to 1995, when both men were getting their footing in Silicon Valley.
The sharp criticism from Skoll, who contributed $645,600 toward Biden election efforts in 2020, adds to the yearslong rift between Biden and Musk, whose shift to the political right remains an ideological surprise considering Democrats’ historically stronger support for electric vehicle initiatives, like the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV buyers that Trump reportedly may cut.
The initial Biden slight referred to by Skoll was an August 2021 White House summit on electric vehicles with executives from the likes of Ford and General Motors but not Tesla, with Musk bemoaning at the time it “seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited” and complaining that December about the administration’s “cold shoulder.”
Biden, whose administration hopes to grow the proportion of electric vehicles on the road to 50% by 2030, hasn’t said much publicly on Musk, but said at a 2022 press conference “Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” nodding toward the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund’s involvement in Musk’s 2022 purchase of the social media company then known as Twitter, and his often cozy relationship with China’s ruling party.
His administration has also targeted Musk and his companies several times, including an ongoing Justice Department probe into Tesla’s controversial autonomous driving program.
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Chief Critic
Biden spokesman James Singer went after Musk for his reported Trump donation, telling Bloomberg, “Elon knows Trump is a sucker who will sell America out” and he’s among the “arrogant billionaires only out for themselves.”
Big Number
About 70%. That was Tesla’s market share among U.S. automakers in the domestic EV sales during the first quarter of 2024.
Key Background
Musk said in Feb. 2023 he voted for Biden, and he donated to Trump opponent Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 election. Trump declared last month he’s a “fan of Elon,” who told Tesla investors shortly thereafter the former president often calls him “out of the blue.” The Wall Street Journal reported in May that the pair have discussed a role in a potential Trump administration, which Musk later denied. Wall Street analysts believe a Trump presidency would be a “negative” for the electric vehicle industry as a whole due to a potential demand slowdown, but a potential boon for Tesla as Trump’s proposed tariffs on Chinese goods would prohibit cheaper electric vehicles from rivals BYD and NIO from penetrating the U.S. market.
Tangent
After making his fortune at eBay, Skoll launched Participant Media to create socially conscious entertainment. During a 20 year run, Participant had a string of award-winning films—from documentaries including Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” and “The Cove,” to George Clooney’s “Good Night And Good Luck,” and the Oscar-winning “Spotlight”—but closed shop this year, saying they were unable to turn a profit.
Forbes Valuations
Musk is the richest man in the world with a net worth of $249.8 billion, about 40% of which is tied to his Tesla stock. Skoll ($4.5 billion) and Trump ($5.3 billion) are both among the 800 wealthiest people on the planet, according to our estimates.