Biden praised General Motors for leading the electric car revolution the same quarter they delivered 26 electric vehicles.
Now the man who ran Biden's transportation department just admitted on camera the whole thing was a mistake.
What Buttigieg said next finally explains why Elon Musk became Donald Trump's biggest donor.
How Biden Excluded Elon Musk and Tesla From the White House EV Summit
Pete Buttigieg appeared on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett.
He was asked directly about the 2021 White House EV Summit snub of Elon Musk.
His answer: "That was a mistake; I was there for that."
Then Buttigieg went further and credited Musk openly.
"He is, if not single-handedly responsible, certainly the person most responsible for EV excellence on American soil," Buttigieg told Bartlett.
"And he's saying, what the f**k? And I don't blame him for that."
Then came the explanation for why it happened – and it was worse than saying nothing.
Buttigieg told Bartlett the event "was built to kind of celebrate the agreement that had been reached around tailpipe standards."
"And Tesla, because all they make are EVs, doesn't even have tailpipes, and so people weren't really thinking about inviting Tesla."
Biden held an EV summit.
Tesla only makes EVs.
Bartlett wasn't buying it.
The podcast host noted that Musk "publicly broke ranks with the Democrat Party," bought Twitter, and "ultimately became Donald Trump's largest donor and key surrogate."
At the time, Musk's public reaction was measured: "Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn't invited."
One month later, his tone changed.
He called the Biden administration "not the friendliest" and said it seemed "controlled by unions."
He was right – and it took Biden insiders five years to confirm it.
UAW Controlled Biden EV Policy and Kept Tesla and Elon Musk Out
The real explanation was never about tailpipes.
Fox Business reported the rift started before the summit – Biden's team refused to take calls from Tesla officials after the January 2021 inauguration, unwilling to give Musk access to the new president for fear of a UAW backlash.
A former UAW official later confirmed the arrangement to the Wall Street Journal.
"We made it clear to the administration about where things were," the official said. "We didn't have to make an ultimatum. They understood."
The UAW ran Biden's EV policy from day one.
The summit featured Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis – the three largest employers of UAW members – while Tesla, the biggest EV manufacturer in the country, waited outside.
Then-press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed as much when reporters pressed her on whether the exclusion was punishment for Tesla's non-union workforce.
Her answer: "I'll let you draw your own conclusions."
Biden credited General Motors with leading the electric car revolution.
That quarter, GM had delivered 26 electric vehicles.
Tesla had shipped 300,000.
Musk said the snub was an insult to Tesla's 140,000 employees, more than half of them in America.
How Biden Turned Elon Musk Into a $300 Million Trump Donor
Buttigieg isn't the first Biden insider to admit it.
Kamala Harris called it a "big mistake" in her book 107 Days, writing that "Musk never forgave it."
GM CEO Mary Barra privately told Biden that Musk deserved the credit his administration kept handing to her company.
None of it was enough.
Biden chose a union that delivered 26 cars over the man who delivered 300,000 – and lost him permanently.
Musk responded by spending roughly $300 million backing Donald Trump in 2024 and becoming the driving force behind DOGE inside the second Trump administration.
Now even Buttigieg – already seen as the Democrat frontrunner for 2028 – can't defend what Biden did.
His willingness to say so publicly tells you the Democrat Party has already decided Biden is the reason they lost – and they're done defending him.
When the people who were in the room start calling it a mistake, the cover story is finished.
Sources:
- William Buckley, "Pete Buttigieg Admits Biden Blew It By Snubbing Elon Musk At EV Event," The Daily Caller, August 5, 2026.
- "Biden's Tesla Snubs Sparked Elon Musk's Break from Democrats: Report," Fox Business, July 29, 2024.
- Landon Mion, "Kamala Harris Says Biden Made 'Big Mistake' by Not Inviting Musk to EV Event in 2021," Fox News, October 19, 2025.
