U.S. President Joe Biden has been seemingly unwilling to acknowledge Tesla Inc TSLA as a leader in America's transition to electric vehicles, and people are taking notice.
An increasing number of people have signed a petition asking Biden to acknowledge Tesla and someone even bought a billboard in Times Square featuring a tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
What To Know: Tesla didn't receive an invitation to the signing of Biden's executive order to make 50% of all new vehicle sales in the U.S. electric by 2030. This seems to be the first time that Musk felt left out. The event was centered around the electrification transition of legacy automakers like Ford Motor Co F and General Motors Co GM.
Things really started heating up when Biden posted a video on Twitter with GM CEO Mary Barra, crediting GM and Ford for their electrification efforts but failing to mention Tesla, the largest EV producer in the U.S.
Musk responded to the post with a tweet of his own in the form of a word puzzle: "Starts with a T, Ends with an A, ESL in the middle," Musk said.
Why It Matters: Musk's tweet caught the eye of many Tesla fans as supporters followed up with responses to Biden, highlighting his oversight. Others saw it as more of an intentional snub and are taking more extensive measures to get Biden to acknowledge Tesla.
From Last Week: Can You Solve Elon Musk's Word Riddle On Who The U.S. EV Leader Is That Ratioed President Joe Biden?
The petition, which was introduced last week, is gaining traction among Tesla fans and now has more than 50,000 signatures in support. One proponent of Tesla even bought advertising space in Times Square featuring Musk's riddle-like tweet, as seen in the image above.
It remains to be seen whether these efforts will go unnoticed or if Biden will finally acknowledge Tesla's efforts in the electrification of America.
In the meantime, Tesla continues to dominate U.S. EV sales. The company announced that it produced more than 900,000 electric vehicles in 2021 and expects to grow "comfortably above" 50% in 2022.
TSLA Price Action: Tesla has traded as low as $539.49 and as high as $1,243.49 over a 52-week period.
The stock was down 1.6% at $891.14 at the close Thursday.
Photo: courtesy of @PPathole from Twitter.
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