President Trump said Tuesday he planned to buy a “brand-new” Tesla to support Elon Musk, whose car company faces backlash and boycotts over his government-cutting efforts.
Mr. Trump showed he was serious about checking out a model when three Teslas were brought to the South Lawn of the White House.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk looked over the cars. The president sat in a red Model S, which he described as “beautiful,” and said he would buy it.
“I don’t want a discount,” Mr. Trump said, adding that he would pay with a check.
Mr. Musk told reporters that he would remain as the CEO of Tesla while working with Mr. Trump and heading his cost-cutting advisory board, the Department of Government Efficiency.
Mr. Trump said in an overnight Truth Social post that Mr. Musk is “putting it on the line” to help the country through DOGE.
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“But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ’baby,’ in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for,” Mr. Trump posted. “They tried to do it to me at the 2024 Presidential Ballot Box, but how did that work out?”
Mr. Musk, the CEO of the X social network, SpaceX and Tesla, is behind the firing of thousands of government workers and canceling government contracts and programs as part of his bureaucracy-cutting endeavor.
The effort won praise from people who say the government is bloated and condemnation from Democrats and others who say he is gutting U.S. programs and middle-class jobs in the federal workforce.
Protesters attacked Tesla locations across the country last week, according to local authorities. There were “Tesla Takedown” protests at dealerships in Maryland earlier this month and in Manhattan this past weekend.
While vandalism is illegal, boycotting a company is not. A 1982 Supreme Court decision held that politically motivated boycotts of private companies are protected by the First Amendment.
Some Tesla owners have expressed shame by affixing bumper stickers that say things like, “I thought Nikola made it.”
Mr. Trump, the consummate showman, said he wanted to buy one of Mr. Musk’s cars as a sign of support for the world’s richest man.
“I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”
• Matt Delaney and Jeff Mordock contributed to this story.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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