Tesla's Musk says Biden's Build Back Better bill shouldn't pass

San Francisco: Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a pot shot at President Joe Biden on Tuesday and said that the latter's "Build Back Better" bill, which includes federal funding for electric vehicle charging stations, should be canned because it would add to the country's deficit.

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal's CEO summit late on Monday, Musk noted the federal budget deficit as insane and recommended to not pass Biden administration's ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

"We've spent so much money.. The federal budget deficit is insane. I would say... can the whole (infrastructure) bill. Don't pass it, that's my recommendation," Musk said.

"Just delete them all".

The Build Back Better Act, originally introduced in Congress on September 27, 2021, is a broad funding and programmatic package supported by President Biden. The bill, as first introduced by the House, was estimated to total $3.5 trillion. A more recent version now under consideration in the House is estimated to total significantly less, at $1.75 trillion, due to pressures to reduce the bill's cost.

As per reports, the spending bill, would fund EV charging stations and provide tax credits of up to $12,500 for electric vehicles that are union-made in the U.S. Notably, Tesla factories are not unionized, and Tesla has been absent from much of the Biden administration's EV agenda.

Musk added that the US government should not be giving out subsidies to expand EV charging infrastructure either.

"Do we need support for gas stations? We don't. So there's no need for this," Musk said.

He also reiterated opposition to a proposal by Democrats to tax billionaires. "It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill ... and give it to, you know, an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government."

Musk further said that Tesla has been selling its electric cars for more than a year in the US without the $7,500 federal tax credit, without taking a demand hit.

Tesla currently operates more than 3,000 charging stations with around 30,000 connectors globally.

Musk's electric car company has officially moved its headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas.

Tesla will continue to operate its electric vehicle factory in Fremont, California, and increase production there by 50 per cent.