Elon Musk quietly visited President Joe Biden’s White House in September of last year, visitor logs show.
The mercurial Tesla CEO apparently took a meeting in the West Wing after meeting with lawmakers to talk about artificial intelligence on Capitol Hill on the afternoon and evening of Sept. 13, according to the logs. Former White House official and current Tesla senior global director of public policy and business development, Rohan Patel, accompanied Musk on his trip, which was first reported by NBC News.
Musk did not meet with the president during his visit, a representative for the Biden Administration told the network. They also added that Musk had not been to Biden’s White House before or since.
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Administration spokesperson Robyn Patterson called the meeting “one of many White House staff held with leaders in tech, academia, government and civil society as President Biden developed the most significant action any government in the world has taken on A.I. safety, security, and trust.”
Musk has been notably critical of Biden in recent months, though the billionaire previously admitted to voting for him in 2020.
The pair’s views diverge sharply on several key issues, especially in their embrace of labor unions. Biden has long defended them as a key part of his plans to revitalize the middle-class, while Musk has repeatedly fought efforts to unionize his companies, especially attempts made by the United Auto Workers to organize Tesla workers in California.
Musk’s visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was not unusual for the billionaire, who attended multiple events during the Obama and Trump Administrations.
