Donald Trump showered Tesla CEO Elon Musk with praise and created a spectacle out of buying Tesla of his own outside of the White House. Despite the obviously unsubtle endorsement, Musk got no sympathy points from social media users.
“I’m going to buy because it’s a great product,” Trump said about the Tesla cars parked at the White House. It’s unclear which Tesla model Trump is referring to, but he expressed that he will purchase one car for himself.
“This man has devoted his energy and his life to doing this,” Trump said in regards to Musk’s work with Tesla. “I just want people to know that you can’t be penalized for being a patriot,” the president then added. Trump believes that Musk is being persecuted economically for finding “fraud and waste” through DOGE.
The president convincingly expressed frustration multiple times about being unable to drive Teslas, despite wanting to. Due to safety reasons, former and current United States presidents are prohibited from driving. To add to the fanfare, Trump also said that he bought a Cybertruck in 2024. This was a gift purchase for his granddaughter, Kai Trump. He then raved on about the Cybertruck’s safety features, as if to promote the car.
No one mourns the wicked Musk
Despite the good press for Tesla, critics of this White House stunt were unnerved about Trump’s endorsement of the cars. More so, they were aggravated by Trump’s defense of Musk.
Some of them were disgusted that Trump made Musk look like a sympathetic figure. One X user wrote, “So we’re supposed to feel sorry for the billionaire who is indiscriminately firing thousands, looking to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans benefits, etc.? F— that!”
Another X user described the interaction between Musk and Trump as an ad for Tesla. They wrote, “Elon’s so desperate to get his stock price back up, he’s filming an ad with Trump lmao.”
But Tesla’s stocks have been trending downward since January 2025, failing to beat their all-time high at roughly $480 in December 2024. Tesla stocks are worth $246.63 as of March 12, 2025. It’s a sharp drop, but it largely resembles Tesla’s prices from June to August 2024. This just goes to show that actions have consequences.
Arguably, by and large, these plummeting stock prices are not so punitive to Musk. It’s not enough when compared to the cuts the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is directing against federal programs designated to feeding children and people in underserved communities.
Published: Mar 12, 2025 04:22 pm