Trump buys a Tesla purchase amid Tesla stock drops
President Donald Trump bought a Tesla in show of support of Elon Musk and said it’ll be used at the White House.
Trump world is trying to save its own.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a top ally and donor to President Donald Trump, used a primetime appearance Wednesday evening to defend his fellow billionaire Elon Musk.
“I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight,” Lutnick told Fox News’ Jesse Watters, “buy Tesla. It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again.”
Tesla, Musk’s electronic vehicle company, has seen its stock plummet by more than 50% since December. The company’s shares took another hit Thursday morning, after Lutnick’s appeal to investors the night before.
“I mean who wouldn’t invest in Elon Musk. You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lutnick said in his New York accent and blunt cadence Wednesday.
The president has also appeared trying to throw Musk’s company a life raft, posing with a lineup of Tesla vehicles in front of the White House earlier this month. Trump said on social media he planned to buy a Tesla “as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk.”
Trump and Musk’s opponents, meanwhile, are taking delight in the entrepreneur’s woes.
Minnesota Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz said during an event in Wisconsin Tuesday he has been using his phone’s stock app to keep watch on Tesla’s sinking value, “to give me a little boost during the day.”
“And if you own one,” Walz told a cheering auditorium crowd, “we’re not blaming you. You can take dental floss and pull the Tesla thing off, you know.”