Biden Dismisses Musk's 'Super Bad Feeling' On US Economy; Wishes Him Good Luck For Moon Trip

"Let me tell you, while Elon Musk is talking about that, Ford is increasing their investment overwhelmingly," said Biden responding to Musk's criticism by hinting at growth among Tesla rivals

New Delhi: In a pun aimed at Tesla chief Elon Musk over his pessimism about the economy, US President Joe Biden on Friday wished back the SpaceX founder "lots of luck" on the Moon, reported news agency AFP. Tesla chief told the employees of the electric automaker that he wants to slash the workforce by 10 percent. In an internal mail titled ‘pause all hiring worldwide’ sent to Tesla executives on Thursday, Musk said he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy, as per the news agency Reuters report.

The message once again showed Musk’s dislike for Biden. The US President, who was emphasing on May jobs data that economists view as potentially indicating a healthy path forward for the post-pandemic economy, responded to Musk's criticism by hinting at growth among Tesla rivals.

"Let me tell you, while Elon Musk is talking about that, Ford is increasing their investment overwhelmingly," Biden added as per the AFP report. "The former Chrysler corporation, Stellantis, they are also making similar investments in electric vehicles," noted Biden.

"So, you know, lots of luck on his trip to the Moon," Biden said of Musk, whose SpaceX has been picked by NASA to build the lander for a Moon trip. The banter didn’t end with Biden’s statements as Musk responded to a video from Friday’s press conference by thanking the US President and included a link to a 2021 NASA press release about the agency selecting SpaceX to work on a lunar mission in the future.

Last year, NASA awarded Musk's space company SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to build a spacecraft to bring astronauts to the moon as early as 2024, according to Reuters, picking it over Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics Inc.

In an internal email Musk stressed on the presence of senior workforce at the site and asked employees to work in the office for at least 40 hours per week, the email Musk sent to employees stated on Tuesday. The world’s richest man who is not convinced with the idea of his executives working from home, said "Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week," wrote Musk to his employees, as per the leaked mail. He clearly stated that "If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned".