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The White House finally admits they need Tesla and Elon Musk’s help
Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with Senior White House officials John Podesta and Mitch Landrieu to discuss the potential of expanding the automaker’s industry-leading charging network to include non-Tesla electric vehicles. The White House finally admitted they couldn’t push sustainability forward at the rate they’d like without Tesla and Musk.
Since the Biden Administration took over the White House, they have been slow to recognize the progress that both Tesla and Musk have contributed to the EV industry. Love him or hate him, Musk is a pioneer when it comes to passenger transportation. If it was not for him and Tesla, it is more than likely that EVs would not be as popular or relevant as they are today.
The details of the White House meeting between Musk, Podesta, and Landrieu remained under wraps until The Washington Post spoke to two people with knowledge of it. The sources explained that Tesla was open to potentially working with the Biden Administration on relinquishing exclusive access to its charging network and instead expanding it to include other EV manufacturers, whether they are legacy companies or startups.
Even still, Tesla did not completely commit to the idea. As I discussed yesterday, the Tesla Supercharger Network is one of the biggest (and, in my opinion, the biggest) advantages the company has. Everyone already knows that Tesla has a wide lineup of vehicles, it now has a commercial truck with the Semi, and it also is working toward launching the Cybertruck, its first pickup.
The 43,000+ Superchargers in the world, with many of them in the United States, offer reliability, consistency, and an excellent footprint that sprawls from high-traffic highways to even rural America. Many are situated near convenience stores, hotels, and other sources of entertainment.
But while Tesla has been building out its expansive network of charging piles, increasing manufacturing capacity, and disrupting the entire automotive sector, it has not won the recognition of the Commander in Chief. Instead, Biden has focused on other companies, like General Motors, and we all know the infamous “You did it, Mary” quote. Nothing against GM, they are making strides in their own right, but it is just plain unfair not to give Tesla and Musk the recognition they so much deserve.
The White House has put billions in government funding aside to help spur the use of sustainability. EVs are one of the biggest contributors to this effort, as most people will end up in a vehicle of some kind throughout their day. However, the White House has not loved mentioning Musk or Tesla by name specifically, and Musk has noticed. So have his biggest supporters.
Tesla’s absence from White House EV event sidestepped in Pete Buttigieg interview
But the Biden White House is reaching a breaking point. With Tesla contributing so much to the EV infrastructure and its goals of establishing 500,000 new EV charging stations in the U.S. market, it is time to swallow the pride that the administration has shown and just ask Tesla if they’d consider it. It finally happened, and the ball now lies in Tesla’s court.
Numerous things have happened that point in the direction of Tesla potentially opening the Supercharger Network to competitors. First, Tesla has been testing the idea through a Pilot Program in Europe. It is open in fifteen countries, the most recent being Italy, which Tesla added in November. It also recently expanded to Australia.
Next, the White House said last year that Tesla would “begin production of new Supercharger equipment that will enable non-Tesla EV drivers in North America to use Tesla Superchargers.”
Finally, Tesla leaked details on what it calls “the Magic Dock” earlier this year in its smartphone app. This showed a potential CCS-compatible connector being added to Supercharger piles, enabling other EVs to charge.
It is a big decision because there is a slice of $7.5 billion at stake here, which Tesla could utilize for its own charging capabilities. To qualify for it, however, the company has to enable other EVs to charge at its Superchargers.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant
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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
