Elon Musk and Donald Trump branded 'scabs' as auto workers union files federal charges against 'clowns'

Trump and Musk, whom the UAW described as "disgraced billionaires", engaged in an interview on X, formerly known as Twitter, to discuss the presidential race and the recent assassination attempt on the President.

The interview was branded as a "rambling, disorganized conversation" by the UAW, in which both men slammed automotive workers who were part of unions.

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The UAW is accusing the billionaires of "advocating for the illegal firing of striking workers" during their shared X conversation on Monday evening.

Donald Trump said: "I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you say, You want to quit?

"They go on strike, I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, That’s OK, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone.”

In a statement on its website, United Auto Workers clarified that under United States federal law, workers cannot be fired from their jobs for going on strike.

It is also illegal for employers to threaten to sack someone under the terms of the National Labor Relations Act.

Shawn Fain, President of the UAW, said: "When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean. When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean.

“Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves, and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk, who is contributing $45million (£35.1million) a month to a Super PAC to get him elected.

"Both Trump and Musk want working-class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly. It’s disgusting, illegal, and totally predictable from these two clowns.”

This follows a declaration from the UAW to formally endorse current Vice President Kamala Harris in the Presidential race, with the election taking place in less than 100 days on November 5.

Kamala Harris travelled to Detroit earlier this month to meet with UAW members and leaders to hear about the issues that matter to them, with the union saying Harris will "stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed".

Despite receiving public support from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Donald Trump has been critical of electric vehicles for a number of years, including calling them "too expensive" in July.

Speaking to Bloomberg, the former President said: "The cars don’t go far enough. They’re very, very expensive. They’re also heavy. You know, they’re much heavier."

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He has also previously vowed to ditch Government subsidies for electric vehicles, noting that he was in favour of petrol and diesel vehicles that were made in the United States by American workers.

Similarly, JD Vance, Trump's running mate for the election has called for the introduction of the Drive American Act. This proposed the elimination of more than $100billion (£77billion) in existing EV subsidies.

Instead, Vance would roll out America First Vehicle Credits to promote petrol and diesel cars and vans made in the US and give drivers up to $7,500 (£5,847) for new petrol or diesel vehicles.