President Donald Trump held a Tesla promotion at the White House on Tuesday, where he was joined by White House adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The company’s stock has more than halved since reaching a peak of $479 per share in December after Trump’s victory. Musk went all in on the president’s campaign, spending nearly $300 million to elect Trump. Sales of Tesla vehicles have plummeted in the U.S. and Europe amid increased competition in the electric vehicle space and perhaps more crucially, Musk’s embrace of far-right politics.
The auto billionaire has played a prominent role in the Trump administration by laying off thousands of federal employees at various government agencies while freezing funds appropriated by Congress. Legal experts have deemed many of the moves to be illegal. Musk’s cuts have prompted protests at Tesla dealerships across the country. In a few instances, dealerships, Tesla vehicles, and equipment have been vandalized.
Amid the turmoil facing the company, Trump announced on Monday that he would purchase a Tesla to show his support for Musk, whose companies have billions of dollars in contracts with the federal government. The next day, several Tesla models were on display at the White House, where Trump praised his megadonor’s vehicles.
“[N]umber one is a great product as good as it gets,” the president said. “And number two, because this man has devoted his energy and his life
Trump then lamented the fact that while he was supposedly about to buy a Tesla, he could not drive it.
“So, I just wanted to make a statement,” the president said. “Now, here’s the bad news. I’m not allowed to drive because I haven’t driven a car in a long time. And I love to drive cars, but I’m gonna have it at the White House, and I’m gonna let my staff use it.”
Watch above via the White House.