President Biden cruised around in an electric Hummer vehicle on Wednesday as he toured the General Motors 'Factory ZERO' electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan.
The president, a car enthusiast, excitedly drove himself in the new vehicle, whipping around an empty parking lot in the factory.
'Anybody want to jump in the back? On the roof? This sucker's something else,' Biden said as he sat in the driver's seat after taking the vehicle for a spin.
Unlike their gas-guzzling predecessors, these military-style pickup trucks operate on battery power. Biden visited a grand opening ceremony for 'Factory Zero' at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, where a broad array of new electric trucks and vehicles will be built.
GM boasts that the 9,000-lb vehicle can go from 0-60 miles per hour in three seconds and has a 350-kilowatt fast-charging capability which allows it to add 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes. However, the Edition One comes at a $112,595 cost.
One GM staffer told the president the vehicle prototype was 'three times the weight of your Corvette and twice as fast.'
Biden was in Motown celebrating his win on the $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which includes provisions for electric vehicles.
The infrastructure bill allocates $7.5 billion to build electric vehicle charging stations. Most of those, however, will likely be 'Level 2' variety, which can give a vehicle 25 miles of battery capacity per hour.
Biden was in Motown celebrating his win on the $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which includes provisions for electric vehicles
The president, a car enthusiast, excitedly drove himself in the new vehicle, whipping around an empty parking lot in the factory.
Biden sings praises of the vehicle after his test run
General Motors this year paid $160,000 to a lobbyist whose brother is one of the president's closest advisers.
Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti, reported being paid $160,000 by General Motors this year to lobby the White House and Congress.
His lobbying disclosures indicate that the work included efforts on electric vehicle tax incentives.
It is Biden's third visit to one of the big three automakers this year, following trips to see a Fiat-Chrysler plant in March and a Ford factory in May.
