President Trump held an exclusive auto show at the White House Tuesday afternoon.
The only company represented: Tesla. The only purpose: to help Elon Musk.
Tesla faces a rebound in Mr. Musk’s role in the Trump administration, with the president saying he wants to buy an electric car from the company. But Mr. Trump has been a salesman and wants not only to buy a car. He wanted to sell it and help his friends, who also happens to be Tesla’s CEO.
The 30-minute parish is part of the press conference when Mr. Trump answers questions between questions (about the stock market, Canadian tariffs and the Ukrainian war) and try five different Tesla cars between them.
“I like that one,” Mr. Trump said. A bright red model S cost about $80,000. “And I want the same color.” (Mr. Musk, who stood next to the president, seemed to try to sell him in Seberak, saying, “It’s bulletproof.”)
It’s an extraordinary scene where the president uses the White House background to boost sales for friends and top donors. Mr. Musk told Trump advisers in recent days that he wanted to invest $100 million in groups controlled by Trump’s political actions, according to people familiar with the matter.
The event became more surreal as Trump had been beating electric cars for years. On Christmas Day in 2023, he posted on social media the electric car “Roar Hell”.
He said the cars are too expensive to drive far enough without charging. But for Mr. Trump, the second point should not be the problem. Mr. Trump said Tuesday that the Secret Service would not allow him to drive.
“I haven’t driven a car in a long time, I like driving,” he told reporters. “But I want to have it in the White House, I want my employees to use it.”
Mr. Trump said he would pay by check and he didn’t want a discount.
Most presidents avoid promoting or endorsing products because employees of the execution branch are forbidden to do so on behalf of friends and relatives. During Mr. Trump’s first term, one of his advisers, Kellyanne Conway, was condemned for violating these rules when urging people to buy Ivanka Trump’s fashion products.
But these rules do not apply to the president. Tesla’s shares rose slightly on Tuesday, although overall has remained overall since December.
Mr. Trump said he just wanted to help Mr. Musk, who led the campaign to cut federal labor.
“I think he was treated unfairly by a small number of people,” Trump said. “And I just want people to know that he can’t be punished for being a patriot.”
Theodore Schleifer and Maggie Haberman Contribution report.
