US President Joe Biden driving the Cadillac at Detroit Auto Show. (AFP Photo)
US President Joe Biden offered onlookers a ride back from the Detroit Auto Show to Washington, DC, in an electric vehicle, according to a report in Newsweek. The President was sitting in the high-end Cadillac Lyriq, which has a price tag of $61,795 (Rs 49 lakh). The video of Mr Biden's gesture has gone viral on social media. The new-generation models shared the stage with gasoline at a revived Detroit Auto Show. The visit by the US President, a self-professed "car guy", has boosted the profile of the gathering.
In the video circulating on social media, Mr Biden is seen driving slowly across the carpet inside the Cadillac in a convention hall before calling out: "Anyone wants a ride to Washington?"
"Come on, jump in. I'll give you a ride to Washington," Mr Biden is heard saying further after which a report asks him, "Is that my Uber? Uber ride?" The US President replies, "It's an Uber."
Hours after opening on Wednesday, the Detroit convention centre was cleared of journalists to secure the space for Mr Biden, who was greeted by General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra and other top officials before test-driving the Lyriq.
The US President said he liked the Lyriq, but took a particular shine to an Orange Corvette he had earlier examined, according to a White House release.
"He said he's driving it home," Mr Barra said of the US President's reaction to the Corvette, a gasoline-powered vehicle.
Mr Biden's appearance comes just weeks after the US President signed into law major new investments in semiconductor production and combatting climate change, lending his Democratic Party some momentum heading into the November mid-term elections.
While gasoline-powered cars still dominate US roads, Detroit auto giants have unveiled more EVs as they seek to wrest control of a growing market from Tesla and newer upstarts.
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