WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump shopped for a new Tesla on the White House driveway Tuesday, selecting a shiny red sedan to show his support for Elon Musk 's electric vehicle company as it faces blowback because of his work to advance the president's political agenda and downsize the federal government.
“Wow," Trump said as he eased his way into the driver's seat of a Model S. “That's beautiful.”
Musk got in on the passenger side and joked about “giving the Secret Service a heart attack” as they talked about how to start a vehicle that can reach 60 miles per hour in a few seconds.
Trump told reporters that he would write a check for the car, which retails for roughly $80,000, and leave it at the White House so his staff can drive it. The president also said he hopes his purchase will boost Tesla, which is struggling with sagging sales and declining stock prices.
“It's a great product,” he said. Referring to Musk, Trump said “we have to celebrate him.”
It was the latest — and most unusual — example of how Trump demonstrated loyalty to Musk, who spent heavily on his comeback campaign last year and has been a key figure in his second administration. Tesla's stock price increased nearly 4% on Tuesday after dropping almost 48% since Trump took office in January.
The Republican president announced on social media overnight that he was going to buy a new Tesla as “a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”
Musk continues to run Tesla — as well as the social media platform X and the rocket manufacturer SpaceX — while also serving as Trump's adviser.
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.
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 traveling 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," he said.
"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 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 social media criticized news organizations 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.
