Trump: Musk never asked me to ‘lay off’ EVs

Former President Trump said he remains opposed to “certain” electric vehicles (EVs) despite billionaire Elon Musk supporting his campaign.

Trump told Fox News’s Jesse Watters in an interview Tuesday that despite Musk’s endorsement, the Tesla CEO has “never” asked the Republican nominee to “lay off” criticizing EVs.

“I’ll tell you, he’s never called me and said, could you lay off the electric car?” Trump told Fox News.

“I love Elon. And I have to tell you this about this, he endorsed me. He announced he’s giving me $45 million a month. And yet, I’m against certain electrics,” Trump said. “I love electric cars for people that want them. People that don’t want to drive across the country. People that don’t want to go long distances. You’d have to stop too much. But if you go back and forth or whatever, I think they have a great place.”

Trump has railed against subsidies for electric vehicles as well as initiatives to increase the proportion of EVs manufactured in the U.S.

The former president has sought to emphasize his support for gas-powered vehicles and pitch himself to autoworkers in the Rust Belt, particularly Michigan, a key battleground state in November that he won in 2016 but lost in 2020.

The Republican nominee has also used EVs as a bludgeon against the United Auto Workers union, which endorsed Biden and is expected to endorse Vice President Harris’s campaign.

The Biden administration, as part of a broader goal to halve U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, has worked to promote increased use of EVs through measures including tax credits for the purchase of one. Biden has set a goal of EVs comprising half of new car sales by 2030, while Trump has vowed to roll back large swaths of his agenda.

Musk appeared to back off his $45 million per month commitment earlier Tuesday, saying he will be giving “at a much lower level” to a super PAC backing Trump. Musk endorsed Trump last week, shortly after the former president survived an attempted assassination.

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote in a post on his social platform X, alongside a video of the former president standing and raising his fist after being shot in the ear.

Musk appeared to be growing closer to Trump in recent months, with The Wall Street Journal reporting in late May that the billionaire and the former president had discussed a possible advisory role for Musk in a second Trump administration.