Senior officials of the Biden administration met Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) chief executive officer Elon Musk and General Motors Company's (NYSE:GM) Mary Barra and other motor industry bosses to discuss electric vehicles and charging.
The Whie House said in a statement "there was broad consensus that charging stations and vehicles need to be interoperable and provide a seamless user experience, no matter what car you drive or where you charge your EV."
President Biden had signed an executive order in December 2021 directing the US government to end purchases of petrol-powered vehicles by 2035.
Though government funding of US$7.5bn for EV charging stations was approved by Congress last year, legislation has stalled for new tax incentives to purchase and build EVs, according to media reports.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) CEO Jim Farley, Chrysler-parent Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, Nissan Americas chair Jeremie Papin were among those who attended the meeting, which discussed funding to "create a national network of 500,000 chargers."
Other participants included those from the US arms of Hyundai, Subaru, Mazda, Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM), Mercedes-Benz and Kia Motors Corp. (OTC:KIMTF).
President Biden has repeatedly praised the role of Detroit-based traditional automakers in "leading the world" in electric vehicles in the past, leaving out Musk and Tesla.
Elon Musk has often clashed with the White House, tweeting harshly at President Joe Biden. Following Musk’s repeated complaints about being ignored, Biden publicly acknowledged Tesla’s role in US electric vehicle manufacturing.
As of November last year, Tesla has been gradually opening up its supercharger network to all EVs.