It wasn’t that long ago that Joe Biden was driving the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. Now, he’s been filmed driving the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup at the opening of GM’s Factory Zero.
And if there’s one lesson to be taken from all of this, it’s don’t let President Biden near your EV because he’ll drive it like he stole it. Seen launching the Hummer at speeds normally reserved road testers at airfields, he then invited people to jump in the back.
“This sucker’s something else,” said Biden before expressing his amazement at the EV’s Crabwalk mode. “This thing is three times as heavy as my Corvette and three times as fast. This is incredible.”
Read More: President Joe Biden Attends GM’s Grand Opening Of Factory Zero EV Assembly Plant
President Biden drives electric Hummer @GM: "Anybody want to jump in the back? On the roof? This sucker's something else." pic.twitter.com/3WbEwArRJW
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 17, 2021
The President was on hand to tour GM’s Factory Zero near Detroit to mark its grand opening. Formerly known as Detroit-Hamtramck, the plant was renovated by the automaker to produce EVs based on its Ultium Platform.
GM’s Factory Zero opened yesterday following a $2.2 billion investment. The automaker says, though, that it saved a pile of money by renovating its existing plant, rather than building a new one from the ground up, something it hopes to continue doing at other sites. It said that it could save as much as $20-$30 billion by renovating instead of building by the time all of its U.S. plants are converted to EV production.
President Biden also promoted the government’s new infrastructure bill, arguing that it would take America “off the sidelines” in the race for green-energy manufacturing.
“You know, up until now, China has been leading in this race, but that’s about to change,” he said. “Because of this law, next year, for the first time in 20 years – in which American infrastructure investment will be far [faster] than China’s – the first time in 20 years.”
The GMC Hummer EV will be the first vehicle to roll off the line at Factory Zero starting later this year and will be joined by several other EVs.