Trump to buy a Tesla as Musk’s company faces financial trouble

With Elon Musk facing escalating political blowback and financial troubles, President of the United States Donald Trump said he would buy a Tesla vehicle from his company.

Musk spent heavily on Trump’s comeback campaign last year and has been a key figure in his second administration.

The Republican president announced early Tuesday that he was going to buy a new Tesla as “a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk”, whose electric vehicle company is being battered by sagging sales and plunging stock prices.

Musk continues to run the automaker – as well as the social media platform X and the rocket manufacturer SpaceX – while also serving as Trump’s adviser on overhauling and downsizing the federal government.

The White House did not immediately elaborate on Trump’s plans, such as how the purchase would be handled or where the car would be kept.

Presidents almost never drive for security reasons. Joe Biden got behind the wheel of an electric truck while promoting domestic manufacturing, and Barack Obama took a spin with Jerry Seinfeld in the White House driveway for a comedy show.

But regardless of the practicality of Trump’s purchase, his overnight announcement about buying a Tesla represented another step in how the president has blurred lines by bringing Musk into his administration.

Musk is the world’s richest person, with billions of dollars in government contracts. He’s also exerting sweeping influence over Trump’s administration through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and travelling frequently with the president.

During an interview with the Fox Business Network on Monday, host Larry Kudlow asked Musk “how are you running your other businesses?” while also advising Trump.

“With great difficulty,” Musk replied.

“But there’s no turning back, you say?” Kudlow responded.

“I’m just here trying to make government more efficient, eliminate waste and fraud,” Musk said.

Tesla has recently faced protests and vandalism. Police are investigating gunshots fired at a dealership in Oregon, and fire officials are examining a blaze that destroyed four Cybertrucks at a Tesla lot in Seattle.

At times, the White House has needed to play cleanup for Musk, who had never worked in public service before and has admitted that he’ll make mistakes along the way.

For example, Musk presented inflated estimates of fraud in government benefits like Social Security on Monday, leading Democrats to argue that he was planning cuts to the popular programs.

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk said in the interview. “That’s the big one to eliminate.”

The next morning, a White House account on X criticised news organisations as “lying hacks” and told Democrats to “spare us the fake outrage” about reducing benefits.

“He was clearly talking about the WASTE in the programs,” the White House posted.

In afternoon trading Monday, Tesla shares fell by 14 per cent to US$226.11. That’s the lowest Tesla shares have traded since late October, reflecting investors’ newfound pessimism as the automaker’s sales crater around the globe. At midday Tuesday, the stock was back to more than US$228 per share.

Analysts have blamed Tesla’s sagging stock – and auto sales – on Musk’s support of Trump and other far right candidates around the world.

AP