Above, just a year ago, Trump’s major theme was that EVs were ridiculous, too expensive, and “they don’t go far.”
Yesterday, he was debasing the White House by staging a Tesla sales event on behalf of biggest donor Elon Musk.
Meanwhile:
People protesting against Tesla should be labelled domestic terrorists, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday at a White House media event designed to bolster Elon Musk’s electric car company.
Trump sat in the driver’s seat of a brand new red Tesla that he said he planned to buy, with Musk in the passenger seat, but did not test drive it.
Demonstrators have targeted Tesla showrooms in recent weeks in protest against Musk’s cost-cutting role in Trump’s administration.
Trump said they were “harming a great American company”, and anyone using violence against the electric carmaker would “go through hell”.
Tesla stock at 247.21 as of this morning, down from 496 in December’s post election high
Competitors taking advantage of chaos.
Polestar, the Sweden-based EV startup, is now offering a staggering $20,000 sales incentive for Tesla owners to make the switch to its new Polestar 3 crossover, a vehicle we already really like. Drivers who choose to lease the new luxury crossover can take advantage of the offer until the end of March.
The $20,000 sales incentive is actually composed of two components. First, there’s a $15,000 “Polestar Clean Vehicle Incentive” that doubles the $7,500 federal clean vehicle incentive for U.S.-made vehicles (the Polestar 3 is actually made in America). Then there’s a $5,000 “Polestar Conquest Bonus” for drivers who currently own or lease a Tesla vehicle.
Tesla drivers have to provide a copy of their registration or insurance documents showing their vehicle’s VIN, name, address, and expiration date, and Polestar stores will have to verify that the driver lives in the same household as the registration or insurance documents
But experts warn the unusual presidential backing of a private company could backfire.
“Tesla is becoming a political symbol of Trump and DOGE, and that is a bad thing for the brand,” said Wedbush Securities financial analyst Dan Ives, referring to the advisory group in charge of cutting government spending led by Musk. “You think it’s helping, but it’s actually hurting.”
The stock ended up closing up nearly 4% on Tuesday after one of the worst single day sell-offs in Tesla’s history a day earlier.
Tesla has been pummeled this year under competition from rival electric vehicles, particularly out of China. Numerous auto industry analysts have also pointed to Musk’s close association with Trump and with far right causes globally. Tesla showrooms in the U.S. have been besieged by protesters and its vehicles vandalized on the street. Tesla owners, perhaps in a bid to avoid being targeted, have placed bumper stickers on their cars with messages like, “I bought it before Elon went nuts.”