Donald Trump says he's buying a Tesla.
The President wrote in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday morning that he wants to purchase the electric vehicle a as a show of support for his right-hand-man, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
"To Republicans, Conservatives, and all great Americans, Elon Musk is 'putting it on the line' in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!" Trump wrote. "But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World's great automakers, and Elon's 'baby,' in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for."
Trump continued, "I'm going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American."
Tesla has been struggling since its CEO became the de-facto leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has worked quickly since Trump's inauguration to slash the federal workforce and reduce government spending.
Tesla's stock has plunged 55% from its record high in mid-December, and so far this year, it's down more than 40%. Protests — some featuring Mariachi bands, raccoon puppets, and cardboard Cybertrucks — have been cropping up at Tesla showrooms across the country as public ire over Musk's role in the Trump administration grows. And some Tesla owners are trying to offload their vehicles because of the backlash to Musk, though they'll have to be ready to take a big loss.
Boycotting a company is not illegal, as Trump claimed in his post. The First Amendment protects citizens' right to protest against businesses, the Supreme Court ruled in 1982.
Musk told Fox Business's Larry Kudlow that he's been running his businesses like Tesla and SpaceX "with great difficulty" since he started working with the White House
Tesla's investors have also grown worried that Musk is spending too much time on DOGE.
The White House, Tesla, and Elon Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
