Donald Trump demonstrated his support for Elon Musk by purchasing a Tesla amid growing backlash against the South African billionaire over his leadership of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk tweeted a “Thank you” to the president after Trump took to his Truth Social platform to applaud the Space X founder for the “Fantastic Job” he’s doing running DOGE. After addressing “Republicans and Conservatives,” Trump blamed the current scrutiny against Musk on the “Radical Left Lunatics” who are “trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla.”
“One of the world’s great automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for,” Trump wrote.
As a show of solidarity to the billionaire mogul, Trump announced his plans to “buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support” for Musk.
The next day, Trump stood outside the White House with Musk and a line of Teslas parked on the driveway between the mansion and the south lawn, where he shared his plans to label attacks on Tesla as domestic terrorism.
“They’re harming a great American company,” Trump said. “Let me tell you, 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.”
Trump’s defense of Tesla comes amid
widespread protests against the company. Last week, approximately 350 demonstrators gathered outside a Tesla dealership in Portland, Oregon. At the same time, nine people were arrested during a heated protest outside a Tesla dealership in New York City earlier this month. Additionally, reports of vandalism targeting Tesla vehicles and showrooms have surfaced and are currently under investigation.Tesla is also experiencing a significant decline in market value, with the company losing more than half its worth since peaking on Dec. 17. The slump has erased approximately $800 billion in market capitalization, dropping Musk’s net worth by $100 billion.
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