U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to buy a Tesla to support DOGE head Elon Musk after the electric car manufacturer faced plummeting stock and boycotts over its billionaire CEO’s work with the White House.
Trump rushed to Musk’s defense against the so-called “Radical Left Lunatics” who have staged protests against Tesla across the US as the company’s chief has been hacking away at federal government spending and jobs in his new gig leading the Department of Government Efficiency.
“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after midnight Tuesday.
“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.”
The president said he’d purchase a Tesla in the morning “as a show of confidence” in Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX and the social media platform X.
“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,” he wrote. “Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”
The electric automotive maker’s share price has dropped by nearly a third since Trump became president after an initial boost. Tesla’s stock has dropped by more than 28% in the last month and nearly 32% since Jan. 1.
Protests against Musk and his government cuts have popped up at numerous Tesla dealerships across the country including a Manhattan showroom, where six protesters were arrested on Saturday.
A Tesla dealership in Colorado was vandalized last month when a 40-year-old woman allegedly spray-painted “Nazi cars” on the building and hurled Molotov cocktails at vehicles on the property.
Tesla owners have also reported that their cars have become a target for anti-Musk vandalism. Some owners have replaced Tesla logos on their rides with badges of other auto manufacturers in an attempt to thwart potential vandals and/or distance themselves from the DOGE head and his political beliefs.
