Photo: Twitter / U.S. Secret Service
President Joe Biden may be a personal fan of vintage muscle, but he seems eager to embrace the electric future. So much so that it has become an “objective” of his to electrify The Beast.
The Beast or Cadillac One is the name of the Presidential limousine. It’s actually an umbrella term for a fleet of identical vehicles that are used to transport the acting President of the United States and the First Lady in utmost security. The Beast is a massive armored vehicle with the newest security features, medical equipment and the ability to withstand direct fire and blasts. It lives up to that name, to put it simply.
In light of Biden’s visit at the Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, which resulted in an impromptu test drive of the brand new F-150 Lightning electric truck at the track, Eamon Javers, CNBC’s senior Washington correspondent, asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki whether Biden would be willing to take his newfound love of EVs further. For more context, Biden has already spoken of plans to electrify the entire federal fleet, albeit in vague terms.
According to Psaki, “That’s certainly something the President has talked about and is an objective for him.” In other words, it will happen some day, but there are probably no current plans in this sense.
The Beast received an overhaul in 2018 (the previous one had been in 2009), so it’s still pretty much brand new. The current generation, designed under contract with General Motors and wearing the Cadillac badge, is believed to weigh as much as 20,000 lbs (9,172 kg) and comes with built-in tear gas launchers, puncture-resistant tires, an oxygen and blood supply, and the ability to withstand chemical or biological attacks, gunfire and explosives. Not that this is a complete or confirmed list of features: The Beast is a secret in every sense of the word, for security reasons.
Still, that reported (beastly) curb weight means The Beast would have to pack a battery pack to match, which would add to the weight, making it even slower and a risible range. Of course, it could be that Biden is thinking of making The Beast a hybrid and not a full EV, which would help on state visits in areas where ICE vehicles are already falling out of favor.
In light of Biden’s visit at the Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, which resulted in an impromptu test drive of the brand new F-150 Lightning electric truck at the track, Eamon Javers, CNBC’s senior Washington correspondent, asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki whether Biden would be willing to take his newfound love of EVs further. For more context, Biden has already spoken of plans to electrify the entire federal fleet, albeit in vague terms.
According to Psaki, “That’s certainly something the President has talked about and is an objective for him.” In other words, it will happen some day, but there are probably no current plans in this sense.
The Beast received an overhaul in 2018 (the previous one had been in 2009), so it’s still pretty much brand new. The current generation, designed under contract with General Motors and wearing the Cadillac badge, is believed to weigh as much as 20,000 lbs (9,172 kg) and comes with built-in tear gas launchers, puncture-resistant tires, an oxygen and blood supply, and the ability to withstand chemical or biological attacks, gunfire and explosives. Not that this is a complete or confirmed list of features: The Beast is a secret in every sense of the word, for security reasons.
Still, that reported (beastly) curb weight means The Beast would have to pack a battery pack to match, which would add to the weight, making it even slower and a risible range. Of course, it could be that Biden is thinking of making The Beast a hybrid and not a full EV, which would help on state visits in areas where ICE vehicles are already falling out of favor.
An electric beast? On AF1, WH press secretary Jen Psaki was asked if President Biden will electrify the WH vehicle fleet, including the presidential limo known as "the Beast." She said: "That's certainly something the President has talked about and is an objective for him."
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) May 18, 2021
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