The new Tesla Semi Class 8 truck is already showing signs of becoming a bestseller and another feather in Tesla’s cap. That’s why it’s curious to see Tesla CEO Elon Musk officiate the official opening of the Semi factory in Nevada last week not in person, but in a pre-recorded video. Why skip such a critical event in Tesla’s electrification mission? Perhaps preparing last week’s dinner at the White House in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping is the short answer…or not the only answer.
Where in the world is Elon Musk?
The White House dinner was a lavish event that underscored the contrast between President Trump’s gold-plated lifestyle and the impact of his policies on the general well-being. In the latest development, the Trump administration has kicked millions of children out of the federal SNAP nutrition assistance program. Other elements of the US food supply are also reeling under the Trump administration, ably aided by Elon Musk himself as head of the president’s “DOGE” budget cuts office last year, with potential impacts on entire food systems, from bees on up.
Of course, Elon Musk wasn’t the only high-profile representative of corporate America at Trump’s table, nor the only automaker. The list of attendees also included General Motors President and CEO Mary Barra.
However, as listed in Detroit NewsMary Barra was invited in her capacity as General Motors, while Elon Musk was invited under one of his other companies, SpaceX. Why not Tesla?
Why, in fact. The abrupt 180-degree turn in federal energy policy is one of the reasons for downplaying Tesla’s name at the White House table. Furthermore, despite the persistent popularity of the Tesla brand here in the US and globally, last week was a particularly awkward time for Elon Musk and Tesla to be mentioned in the same breath, now that a long-simmering racial discrimination case against Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, has once again simmered.
“A California agency’s lawsuit accusing Tesla of allowing rampant racial discrimination at its flagship assembly plant will go to trial Monday, one of a series of similar lawsuits facing the electric vehicle maker.” Reuters reported on September 21, referring to the California Department of Civil Rights.
“The company also faces a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging racial harassment, and dozens of lawsuits by individual workers making similar claims.”Reuters additional notes.
Things happen in threes
As the saying goes, bad things happen in threes. Good things also happen in threes. And sometimes three things happen almost at the same time. A second coincidence that contributes to the mystery of Musk’s appearance at the Semi factory is a new explosion of publicity surrounding “Musk,” which is the title of a new documentary about Elon Musk by award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney.
Musk has threatened legal action against the film’s production company, Jigsaw Productions, which is a strange turn for a public figure who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” but that’s the world we live in today.
Last week, the media was also abuzz when word spread that major social media platforms refused to run “Musk” ads, with the daily beast offering a representative owner:
“Damning Elon Musk film hit by shocking censorship”
Oh!
“Elon Musk’s extraordinary power makes it notoriously difficult to publicize a documentary about how powerful Elon Musk has become,” said the daily beast he continued, listing the culprit platforms as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Meta (the umbrella company for Facebook and Instagram), as well as Musk’s own platform X (formerly Twitter).
Or not, as the case may be. The ads, which were commissioned by the film’s US distributor Bleecker Street, will run on Meta and YouTube after all. The coat reported on September 26.
“The decision comes after a story published by The Hollywood Reporter on Friday detailed that the two tech giants, along with TikTok and Musk-owned X, were refusing to run ‘Musk’ ads.” The coat aggregate.
“This was an error and we are restoring the ads,” a Meta spokesperson said. The coat on Saturday.
YouTube offered a different explanation. As described by online film industry hub imdb, YouTube posted a message on its own social media account on Saturday, stating that the trailer for “Musk” “has always been available on YouTube.”
“When it was submitted as an ad, our system temporarily restricted it,” YouTube added, somewhat contradicting the “always” part of the equation. Contradiction or not, the trailer is available here on YouTube for everyone to see, if not on TikTok or X.
Elon Musk is here, there and everywhere
For the record, Musk’s absence from the Semi factory is the second major Tesla event that Musk skipped in recent weeks. On September 3, he also declined to make a personal appearance at the much-hyped launch of the Tesla Cybercab driverless robotaxi in Austin, Texas.
However, at least Musk attended both events in spirit, and that brings up the third event of the week. So far during the 2026 election cycle, Musk has refrained from making personal appearances at campaign events, which is understandable considering that his aggressive defense of the Republican candidate in last year’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election is credited with sparking a voter backlash that resulted in a victory for Democratic candidate Susan Crawford.
However, Musk has clearly been present in spirit this year. Over the summer, Musk began hinting that he was willing to spend millions supporting Republican candidates in the run-up to Election Day 2026 through his personal political action committee, America PAC. It moved forward with an initial spending spree earlier this month, and details began to emerge last week.
“Musk’s American PAC has spent $16.6 million to boost Republicans in U.S. Senate races, including high-profile races in Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Maine. It has also distributed $3.1 million to more than 30 competitive House districts, joining GOP efforts to maintain their majorities in both chambers of Congress,” reported the Detroit News on September 25. He Detroit News Additionally, he notes that Musk has lost $6.3 million in the Texas race for the United States Senate alone, in an effort to shore up Republican Ken Paxton’s failing campaign.
In a previous report, the New York Times listed Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and Ohio as initial targets for US PAC spending, with North Carolina, Georgia and Texas under consideration and House races in California, Wisconsin and Washington also in its sights.
There is a long way to go, but after all, money talks. If Elon Musk can’t personally campaign for his chosen candidates, he will certainly be there in spirit.
Bottom line: The White House dinner, the Fremont factory lawsuit, and the US PAC may (or may not) explain why Musk phoned in to attend the Tesla Semi event. Readers, what do you think? Does it even matter? Leave a note in the discussion thread…
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Image: The Tesla Semi Class 8 pickup truck is shaping up to be another success story, although Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not appear in person at the official launch of the Semi factory in Nevada last week (screenshot via Tesla livestream).
