President Trump and White Home senior adviser, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk depart after taking a look at Tesla automobiles on the South Garden of the White Home on Tuesday.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Photographs
disguise caption
toggle caption
Andrew Harnik/Getty Photographs
President Trump stepped right into a automotive outdoors the White Home on Tuesday afternoon — however not the standard high-security presidential limousine generally known as “The Beast.”
As an alternative of the presidential motorcade of huge, black SUVs lined up on the driveway of the South Garden, there have been 5 Teslas for Trump to peruse.
Trump introduced his intention to purchase a Tesla on Monday evening to help his shut adviser billionaire Elon Musk, who’s the CEO of the automotive firm.
“That is lovely,” Trump stated, moving into the entrance seat of a purple Mannequin S on Tuesday.
That the president made such a public backing of a non-public firm is uncommon, and a attainable moral violation. The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon if ethics guidelines had been adopted.
Trump’s buy can also be one other instance of Musk blurring the line between his roles in authorities, the place he leads the administration’s authorities effectivity effort, and within the non-public sector, as the pinnacle of Tesla, SpaceX and X, previously generally known as Twitter. His firms obtain billions in federal contracts, even because the administration slashes spending throughout the federal government.
Richard Painter, former chief White Home ethics lawyer beneath former President George W. Bush, stated the show seems to violate federal rules prohibiting the usage of public workplace for personal achieve, although these guidelines don’t apply to the president.
“It seems like a manner of claiming this financial system shall be pushed by favoritism,” Painter stated. “It seems like authorities choosing winners and losers, and the federal government saying, ‘Tesla is the winner.’ “
Trump, who has revoked Biden-era efforts to incentivize electric vehicles, stated he’d pay for the automotive with a verify, and would hold it on the White Home for workers to make use of.
Tesla gross sales have plummeted in latest weeks, and there have been protests and assaults on Tesla automobiles and charging stations. Gross sales are down not solely within the U.S., however across Europe, China and Australia, too.
“I believe he is been handled very unfairly by a really small group of individuals, and I simply need individuals to know that he cannot be penalized for being a patriot, and he is an amazing patriot, and he is additionally performed an unimaginable job with Tesla,” Trump stated of Musk.
Requested if shopping for a automotive would assist Tesla with its gross sales, Trump stated, “I hope it does.”
NPR’s Bobby Allyn contributed to this report.
