Trump says he will buy a Tesla to show support for Elon Musk

 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday evening that he will buy a new Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicle as a show of support for CEO Elon Musk, who he lauded for working with his administration.

Trump’s comment came amid growing public outrage over Musk’s actions under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he leads under Trump. DOGE has spearheaded layoffs and funding cuts across several federal agencies.

“The Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla… in any event, I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk,” Trump said in a social media post.

Trump’s post comes following several reports of protests and vandalism carried out against Tesla facilities in the U.S. and Europe, amid seemingly increased public outrage over the actions of DOGE.

Musk’s apparent affiliation with the alt-right- in the U.S. and in Germany- was also seen alienating a bulk of Tesla’s target demographic, which consists largely of liberals and left-leaning, climate conscious voters.

A deteriorating brand image could herald more headwinds for Tesla’s vehicle deliveries, which clocked their first annual drop in 2024. Recent data also showed that the electric vehicle maker’s European sales plummeted in January, amid heightened competition from Chinese and local players.

Musk- who has been extremely active on social media in touting the efforts of DOGE, told Fox Business that it was growing increasingly difficult to juggle his roles at the EV maker and DOGE. Musk also leads SpaceX and his new artificial intelligence venture xAI.