(AFP) – President Donald Trump sought to boost plummeting Tesla share prices Tuesday by briefly turning the White House into a showroom, announcing he was buying one of the electric cars made by close advisor Elon Musk and threatening anti-Musk protesters with “hell.” The unprecedented product endorsement by a sitting president came after Tesla shares cratered amid market fears spurred by Trump’s tariffs and backlash to Musk’s controversial role in slashing the U.S. government.
Despite his troubles, Musk still announced that he plans to double Tesla production in the United States in the next two years. “I said, ‘you know, Elon, I don’t like what’s happening to you, and Tesla’s a great company,'” Trump told reporters while standing alongside Musk, his top donor, in front of a red Tesla on the White House south portico. “He has never asked me for a thing, and he’s built this great company, and he shouldn’t be penalized because he’s a patriot,” Trump continued.
On returning to the White House in January, Trump gave Musk the task of slashing government spending and headcounts running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But DOGE’s cost-cutting has hit increasing resistance, including protests, court rulings, and some pressure from lawmakers. The turmoil has tarnished the Tesla brand, with sales plummeting in Europe, its share price tumbling, and multiple reports of cars being vandalized. Unhappy Tesla owners have even slapped bumper stickers on their vehicles saying they purchased them “before Elon went crazy.”
Trump warned of a crackdown on protesters. Asked by a reporter if protesters should be “labeled domestic terrorists,” Trump said, “I’ll do it.” “You do it to Tesla and you do it to any company, we’re going to catch you and you’re going to go through hell,” he said.
Musk said that thanks to Trump’s “great policies” and “as an act of faith in America,” Tesla would double vehicle output in the United States within two years. Musk also revealed that production would start in Texas next year of a self-driving “cyber-cab” vehicle that will not have a steering wheel or pedals. “It’ll either self drive or not drive at all, but it’ll self drive,” he commented.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform earlier that he would buy a Tesla “as a show of confidence and support” for Musk. “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. He called the South African-born Musk “a truly great American.” Musk, the world’s richest person, responded on his X platform, thanking the president.
While Musk enjoys Trump’s confidence, polling shows the multi-billionaire is deeply unpopular among ordinary Americans, and his government cuts have sparked angry confrontations between Republicans and their constituents. Tesla has lost more than one-third of its market value since mid-December as Musk deepens his association with Trump.
But the automaker’s share prices rallied Tuesday after closing more than 15 percent down on Monday, amid uncertainty over Trump’s import tariffs and threats. Tesla has also seen sales drop across Europe following Musk’s controversial support for far-right groups, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party during Germany’s recent election campaign.
Tesla sales in Germany — Europe’s biggest auto market — plunged more than 76 percent year-on-year in February, official data showed. Overall sales across the European Union almost halved year-on-year in January. In early March, a dozen Teslas were torched at a dealership in France in what authorities treated as an arson attack. The firm’s facilities have also been vandalized in the United States. Musk said his X platform was hit Monday by a major cyberattack.
– Jeremy CHILDS
© 2024 AFP
