“Hit Him Hard”: Kamala Harris Admits Biden’s Snub of Elon Musk Was a Costly Mistake That May Have Helped Trump

In a rare moment of candor, former Vice President Kamala Harris has acknowledged that President Joe Biden’s decision to exclude Elon Musk from a major White House event on electric vehicles back in 2021 was a “big mistake.” The move, which drew heavy criticism at the time, may have had long-term political consequences — including pushing the world’s richest man toward Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election.

The 2021 event, which celebrated America’s push toward clean energy and featured executives from Ford, GM, and Stellantis, notably left out Tesla — the company that singlehandedly revolutionized the electric car market. The omission was widely interpreted as a political snub, given Tesla’s non-union workforce and Musk’s outspoken nature.

Harris, reflecting on that moment, reportedly told aides that the administration “hit him hard — maybe too hard.” She admitted that Musk’s absence sent a “bad signal,” especially as Tesla remained the dominant force in electric vehicle innovation. “He should’ve been there. No one can deny his role in shaping the EV industry,” Harris said.

Political analysts now point to that moment as a turning point in Musk’s relationship with the Biden administration. Once considered a neutral or even progressive innovator, Musk began publicly criticizing Biden, calling the administration “hostile to Tesla.” Over time, his comments became more political — and by 2024, Musk openly backed Donald Trump, reshaping the conversation around tech, free speech, and the economy.

Insiders claim the rift between Musk and the Biden White House went beyond the EV event. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X) and his growing advocacy for “free speech absolutism” put him in direct opposition to many Democratic policies on content moderation and tech regulation.

Now, in hindsight, Harris’s admission suggests a missed opportunity for unity between innovation and policy. “When you alienate visionaries,” one Democratic strategist told Politico, “you risk turning allies into opponents. That’s exactly what happened with Elon.”

With Musk’s massive online influence and his endorsement of Trump resonating with millions, the political cost of that 2021 snub appears far greater than anyone could have predicted. What was once just a protocol oversight may have ended up shifting part of Silicon Valley — and the national conversation — in a direction the White House never intended.