Elon Musk, Worlds Second-Richest Man, Would Like Joe Biden to Pay Attention to Him – Vanity Fair

Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and current second richest man on earth, seems to be upset that President Joe Biden hasnt personally acknowledged his aerospace accomplishments. The SpaceX CEO deployed a Trump-era insult on Sunday to take issue with the lack of praise coming out of the White House following Saturdays landing of his companys historic private mission, as the first all-civilian flight crew safely returned from orbit. NASA officials and rival Jeff Bezos were among those who acknowledged the feat, though the president has yet to comment personally, CNBC reports. His silence appeared to exacerbate Musks frustration with the White House and resulted in the following exchange with a fan:

The tweet is pretty standard for Musk, who historically delights in Twitter trolling. But it also happens to come as Musks other company, Tesla, is on a collision course with the federal government. Tesla is gearing up to offer more car owners an upgraded version of Full Self-Driving Capability, a premium option they can buy to augment the Autopilot driver-assistance system that comes standard with Tesla vehicles. Teslas automation technology has helped it become both the most valuable automaker worldwide, and the subject of public scrutiny. (Just last week, the top U.S. auto safety regulator sought documents as part of an investigation into a series of crashes involving the companys Autopilot feature.)

The enhancement to the FSD software that Musk last week said would soon be available to more Tesla drivers is expected to add a feature intended to help vehicles navigate cities, according to the Wall Street Journal. But transportation officials are pushing back against offering the urban-driving upgrade just yet. Basic safety issues have to be addressed before theyre then expanding it to other city streets and other areas, National Transportation Safety Board head Jennifer Homendy told the Journal. Musk himself recently acknowledged the features shortcomings, tweeting last month that "FSD Beta 9.2 is actually not great but promising that Tesla was rallying to improve as fast as possible.

Part of the controversy around Teslas advanced driving system is that its not fully autonomous, as the term FSDwhich Homendy called irresponsibleand Teslas own marketing may otherwise suggest. Safety officials and lawmakers alike have questioned the extent to which Teslas public messaging misleads consumers on the capabilities of the Autopilot technology; two Democratic senators asked the head of the Federal Trade Commission to probe the mismatch last month. Were consistently hearing that its definitely a work in progress, so its just how do we make sure the public understands its limitations? Reema Griffith, the executive director of the Washington State Transportation Commission, told the Journal.

The National Transportation Safety Boardwhose five members are nominated by the presidentcan investigate crashes and make safety recommendations, but it doesnt have regulatory power. Homendy called on those who do to act accordingly. You can proactively address potential future crashes and future deaths by taking action, she said. Doing investigations after the fact, thats a tombstone mentality.

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Elon Musk, Worlds Second-Richest Man, Would Like Joe Biden to Pay Attention to Him - Vanity Fair