(The Hill) — President Donald Trump said he would be buying a “brand new” Tesla to support his senior adviser Elon Musk, as the stock market shows shares of the electric car company tumbling.
“To Republicans, Conservatives, and all great Americans, Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!” 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,” Trump wrote early Tuesday on Truth Social.
“They tried to do it to me at the 2024 Presidential Ballot Box, but how did that work out?” the president continued. “In any event, 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.”
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He added, “Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”
Trump’s post comes as he faces mounting economic concerns as the stock market dropped amid his trade war with other countries — sparked by his decision to levy new tariffs on the U.S.’s largest trading partners.
Tesla shares fell 15.4 percent to $222.15 on Monday, the lowest the company’s shares have been since October and the steepest drop since September 2020, The Associated Press reported.
Analysts are pointing to Musk’s relationship with Trump as the reason Tesla stocks fell.
In December, just weeks after Musk poured over $200 million into the president’s campaign and appeared in post-election victory celebrations alongside him, Tesla stocks reached $479 a share but haves since fallen and lost 40 percent of their value, the AP reported.
Since January, Musk has become the face of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash federal spending through the new Department of Government Efficiency. The group has cut thousands of federal jobs and sought access to various departments and agencies, raising red flags about sensitive information being breached and vital programs being cut.
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Analysts say Musk’s sudden right-wing shift doesn’t appear to sit well with Tesla shareholders, who are generally viewed to be wealthy, environmentally conscious liberals who wanted an electric car option, the AP noted.
Musk sat for a rare interview on Monday with Fox Business, where he was asked about the recent protests impacting Tesla charging stations, factories and stores.
Larry Kudlow, a former Trump administration official, pressed the tech billionaire about the protests, Tesla stock and recent criticism of the tech billionaire. Musk laughed it off and said to “look on the bright side.”
