President Trump said Tuesday he planned to buy a “brand-new” Tesla to support Elon Musk, whose car company faces backlash and boycotts over his government-cutting efforts.
Hours later, the White House said Mr. Trump was quite serious about checking out a model — and that it was on its way.
“The Beast is nice, but he is going to be viewing a Tesla that is making its way to the White House complex now,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her regular briefing, using a common moniker for the car that presidents ride in.
Mr. Trump said in an overnight Truth Social post that Mr. Musk is “putting it on the line” to help the country through the Department of Government Efficiency.
“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,” Mr. Trump posted. “They tried to do it to me at the 2024 Presidential Ballot Box, but how did that work out?”
Mr. Musk, the CEO of the X social network, SpaceX and Tesla, is behind the firing of thousands of government workers and canceling government contracts and programs as part of his bureaucracy-cutting endeavor.
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The effort won praise from people who say the government is bloated and condemnation from Democrats and others who say he is gutting U.S. programs and middle-class jobs in the federal workforce.
Protesters attacked Tesla locations across the country last week, according to local authorities. There were “Tesla Takedown” protests at dealerships in Maryland earlier this month and in Manhattan this past weekend.
While vandalism is illegal, boycotting a company is not. A 1982 Supreme Court decision held that politically motivated boycotts of private companies are protected by the First Amendment.
Some Tesla owners have expressed shame by affixing bumper stickers that say things like, “I thought Nikola made it.”
Mr. Trump, the consummate showman, said he wanted to buy one of Mr. Musk’s cars as a sign of support for the world’s richest man.
“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,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”
• Matt Delaney contributed to this report.
