Tesla Stocks Plunge, Trump Helps Musk Sell Cars

There was something different about the White House lawn in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday (11/3/2025) or Wednesday (12/3/2025). While the lawn of the United States presidential office is usually used to welcome state guests, this time it was used as a venue to showcase cars.

There are four Tesla cars of various models parked in a row. The cars are red, silver, gray, and blue. U.S. President Donald Trump was seen muttering while speaking to reporters. In his hand was a piece of paper. A photojournalist captured the writing on the paper:

"Tesla prices. Full self-driving system: Model X, 112,490 USD (silver). Model CT (Cybertruck), 114,000 USD (gray). Model S, 108,990 USD (blue). Model Y, 59,990 USD (red). Tesla can be financed for as low as 299 USD per month or up to 35,000 USD per month."

"Well, I like this one," Trump said, pointing to a Tesla Model S after reading the listing.

The billionaire owner of Tesla, Elon Musk, who had been standing near Trump, then invited Trump to get into the red electric car. Trump sat in the driver's seat, with Musk beside him.

"This Tesla is like a golf cart that can go fast," Musk said.

"Oh, that's great. Look at the panels, they're different. They're all computers," Trump said.

Trump stated that he purchased the Tesla. However, he later revealed that he does not drive the car. The reason is that U.S. law prohibits presidents and former presidents from driving vehicles on public roads.

"I'll let my staff drive this car," Trump said.

When the news was published, netizens in the United States expressed their confusion about the incident. Shortly thereafter, they complained on various social media platforms. They criticized the actions of Trump and Musk as tacky.

Several politicians from the Democratic Party criticized the event as being rife with collusion and nepotism. A head of state not only promoted products made by their friends but actually engaged in selling them publicly.

In fact, a group of netizens whose tweets were compiled by the online tabloid Buzzfeed compared Trump's actions to Nazi Germany. In 1938, Adolf Hitler held a similar event to promote the VW Beetle as the "people's car".

Why did Trump do this? The answer is to help Musk. The owner of Tesla, Starlink, and X is the biggest campaign contributor for Trump in the 2024 election. According to US government records, Musk gave $290 million.

Upon his inauguration as president, Trump appointed Musk to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Under the guise of streamlining bureaucracy and efficiency, DOGE fired US federal employees, including Trump supporters.

As of February 2025, DOGE has laid off 30,000 federal employees. According to Military.com, DOGE this year is targeting 83,000 Veterans Association employees, including those who are disabled due to injuries while serving in the war.

As a result, Musk has quickly become the most hated person in the US. The impact has spread to the products made by his company. Canada canceled its Starlink contract for 2025. Musk's most popular product, Tesla, has become the target of criticism.

"Tesla has become a symbol of Musk, Trump and DOGE. This is very bad for Tesla as an automotive brand," said Dan Ives, an analyst at financial firm Wedbush Securities. The firm was previously a Tesla backer.

Musk and Trump haters also acted up. Every time a Tesla car passed by, they pelted it with rotten vegetables and fruits. They cursed the driver. Several Tesla outlets also experienced small fires that were strongly suspected to be deliberate.

At the same time, Tesla owners have also been frustrated by the bullying they have experienced and the association of their cars with Musk. Singer Sheryl Crow, for example, posted on Instagram that she was selling her Tesla.

"The money was used to fund NPR radio programs," Crow wrote. NPR is a US government-owned radio station, but independent in its operations. They had their budget cut because they implemented journalism rules critical of the Trump administration.

Automotive online media specializing in electric vehicles, Electrifying, conducted a survey of potential buyers. As many as 59 percent of respondents said they lost their passion for buying a Tesla. In addition, 61 percent of respondents said they chose to consider buying an electric car made in China.

Due to this phenomenon, Bloomberg noted that Tesla's shares plunged by 50 percent. Some investors divested. In fact, in the last two days, Musk lost 148 billion US dollars. Musk's net worth is now 333.1 billion US dollars.

Therefore, Trump stepped in to help his friend. Although, reports from The Independent and The New York Times said, Musk promised to donate $ 100 million to a Republican political action committee that supports Trump.

"Elon is a good man, a patriot. The criminals who attacked the Tesla stores are domestic terrorists," Trump said during his speech.

Salon media said Musk used a “love-bombing” trick on Trump. This fits the pattern put forward by Musk’s former spouses. Musk’s first wife, Justine Wilson, wrote an autobiography in 2010.

According to Wilson, during college, Musk always approached her and sent her various gifts until they were dating. When they finally got married, Musk's attitude changed 180 degrees. He became controlling and angry. This led to their divorce.

Film actress Amber Heard also admitted to having a similar experience. Musk when approaching her gave her many expensive gifts. Even giving Heard several Tesla models.

Like Wilson, when she finally started dating Musk, Musk's attitude changed. He controlled Heard's life. To the point where Heard wouldn't drive Musk's Tesla for fear of being tapped.

Despite Trump's intention to help Musk, Tesla has struggled to recover. Business magazine Fortune reported that the price of a used Tesla Model X and Y in 2022 was still at least $70,000. Now, the price is only $26,000 and is expected to drop further. This is the worst price drop of all types of electric cars in the world.

Also, the question arises: who will buy Tesla? So far, Tesla owners have been people who care about the environment. They are mostly liberals, not Trump supporters.

This can be seen from the 2024 US Department of Energy data quoted by automotive media Split Volt. They recorded the number of electric cars per 100,000 residents in 50 US states. The top ten are California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Vermont, Utah, and Washington DC.

With the exception of Arizona and Utah, all of these states are historically “blue.” That is, they are Democratic strongholds. Indeed, Nevada swung to Trump in 2024 due to economic recovery.

"Red" states, aka Republicans, generally don't like electric vehicles. They prefer regular cars because they are big, sturdy, and can be driven fast.

In fact, in 2024, Trump mocked incumbent President Joe Biden who wanted to retire fossil fuel cars and replace them with electric cars. Reported in the February 14, 2024 edition of Politico, Trump and the Republicans mocked electric cars as useless because they can't travel far and are prone to damage if exposed to extreme weather.

At the same time as Trump was hawking Tesla, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was lifting 31 environmental restrictions. The rules being overturned include curbs on pollution from coal-fired power plants, climate change mitigation and the transition to electric vehicles.

"The American revival is about energy dominance. We're going to take away all the rules that hold back manufacturing," EPA Director Lee Zeldin said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. He promised new rules on innovation. The bottom line is that coal-fired power plants and regular vehicles must transform to reduce pollution.

Scientists have criticized the administration for completely denying the harms of the climate crisis. Jason Rylander, director of the Center for Climate Law and Biological Diversity, called Zeldin's remarks a step backward.

"The US has just experienced a major wildfire, now we are hit by a snowstorm. All of this is evidence of environmental damage and the government still prioritizing material gain," he said. (AP/Reuters)