Washington: President Joe Biden took his on-and-off tensions with billionaire Elon Musk to another level Friday, wishing the SpaceX founder “lots of luck” on the Moon after he expressed pessimism about the US economy down on Earth.
Musk has made clear he’s no Biden fan and a report Friday from Reuters said he told Tesla executives he has a “super bad feeling” about the US economy and wants to slash the electric auto maker’s workforce by 10 percent.
Biden, celebrating May jobs data that economists see as potentially indicating a healthy path forward for the post-pandemic economy, responded to Musk’s reported comment by pointing 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,” Biden 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.