Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty
The second President Donald Trump selected Elon Musk — a tech and automotive CEO with zero experience in federal office or overseeing government efficiency — to oversee the legally questionable Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), we should have known it was only a matter of time before Trump was out here staging Tesla commercials on the White House lawn.
Welp, here we are.
We all saw how, on Tuesday, the grifter who calls himself commander-in-chief allowed Tesla to deliver five of its vehicles to the White House for Trump to personally inspect, which occurred after Trump declared on his Truth Social account that he would buy one of Musk’s cars, which just so happened to occur as Tesla stocks were plummeting as fast as Trump’s approval rating and the Dow Jones, especially since Trump’s foolish tariff war with neighboring nations, which are now retaliating with tariffs of their own, caused uncertainty in the so-called free market.
Trump really stood there, right in front of the highest government building in the land, and called Musk’s ugly Cybertruck “beautiful,” saying, “As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘That is the coolest design.’” (To be fair, those gold sneakers Trump was drifting his supporters with last year should have given us an idea about his sense of style.)
Trump even stood there reading from what appeared to be a Tesla advertisement, noting that Teslas “can be purchased as low as $299/month or ‘$35k’” while in supposedly casual conversation with the tech billionaire, whom he seemed to have placed squarely in his pocket.
And—surprise, surprise—Trump’s clearly unethical Tesla endorsement gave the company a much-needed bump in its stocks.
Don’t worry, folks, there is nothing to see here — certainly not a clear and unmistakable conflict of interest and the very kind of quid pro-quo-esque wheeling and dealing that government officials are supposed to steer clear of.
From NBC News:
Because of ethical restraints, it is extremely rare for a senior government official, let alone a sitting president, to endorse a consumer product so explicitly. In 2017, when then-Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway told Americans to buy from Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, she received a warning from a government ethics office and promised never to do it again.
By reviewing the Teslas in public before cameras, Trump ensured that his purchase would get wide attention. Dan Scavino, a White House deputy chief of staff, livestreamed the event on X, the social media app owned by Musk.
Trump said he would pay for the vehicle by check.
The event drew some criticism, most notably from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
“Just because the corruption plays out in public doesn’t mean it’s not corruption,” Murphy said on X, alongside a video of Trump getting into a Tesla.
Remember when Trump was convincing half the country that he needed to be president again because people can’t afford eggs and basic necessities? Remember how, during that same campaign, he frequently attacked electric vehicles?
Well, all of that was before he sold the country to the highest bidder.
Now, he wants you to buy a Tesla.
Below, see how social media reacted to Trump’s White House X Tesla stunt.