White House: Biden is invested in electric vehicles because that’s the future of the auto industry

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that President Biden is investing in electric vehicle markets because that’s where the future of manufacturing and job creation is.

“I would say to any skeptics, anyone who’s questioning why we’re investing in the electric vehicle markets or why the president’s proposing that: that’s where jobs are, that’s where the future of the auto manufacturing is. That is where the future of job creation in communities like Michigan is and that’s the message he’s going to send when he’s on the ground today,” Psaki said ahead of Biden’s visit to Ford’s electric vehicle center.

Psaki held the daily press briefing on the way to Dearborn, Mich., where Biden is touring the Ford Rouge Vehicle Center and delivering remarks from the company Tuesday afternoon. She was asked about Ford’s $1 million spending in lobbying so far this year, including lobbying the White House on electric vehicles, and if the government’s investment in electric vehicles is a pay-to-play situation.

“The president is a longtime fan of cars, the car industry. His dad was a car dealer for many years and he’s long believed that we should do everything we can from the United States government to support this industry that is the backbone of many communities, including Michigan. The future of the industry is electric. Everyone will tell you that,” Psaki said. 

“The president believes that the United States should be a larger percentage of the market than they are at this point. That China should not have the larger percentage of the market than the United States,” she added. 

She was also asked if there will ever be an electric “Beast,” referring to the car that drives the president.

“That is certainly our objective, but I can get you an update on what the timeline is for that,” she said. “I think it’s going to take some time to continue to grow the electric vehicle industry in our country.” 

Auto manufacturers have been among the companies asking for the government to get more chips for production from companies in Korea and Taiwan during a global chip shortage. Psaki did not comment on if the White House has received assurance from other countries that they’d ramp up chip production for the U.S. 

“I will though reiterate that we support ongoing discussions with Democrats and Republicans to work to address the shortage, which we know is impacting a range of industries and we’re also having continuing talks through our national security team with countries to help address the shortage,” she said.