President Trump and White Home senior adviser, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk depart after Tesla automobiles on the South Garden of the White Home on Tuesday.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Photos
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Andrew Harnik/Getty Photos
President Trump stepped right into a automobile outdoors the White Home on Tuesday afternoon — however not the same old high-security presidential limousine often known as “The Beast.”
As a substitute 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 night time to help his shut adviser billionaire Elon Musk, who’s the CEO of the automobile firm.
“That is lovely,” Trump stated, stepping into the entrance seat of a pink Mannequin S on Tuesday.
That the president made such a public backing of a non-public firm is uncommon, and a potential moral violation. The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon if ethics guidelines have been adopted.
Trump’s buy can be one other instance of Musk blurring the road between his roles in authorities, the place he leads the administration’s authorities effectivity effort, and within the personal sector, as the pinnacle of Tesla, SpaceX and X, previously often known as Twitter. His corporations obtain billions in federal contracts, even because the administration slashes spending throughout the federal government.
Richard Painter, former chief White Home ethics lawyer underneath former President George W. Bush, stated the show seems to violate federal guidelines prohibiting using 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 electrical automobiles, stated he’d pay for the automobile with a verify, and would preserve it on the White Home for workers to make use of.
Tesla gross sales have plummeted in current weeks, and there have been protests and assaults on Tesla vehicles and charging stations. Gross sales are down not solely within the U.S., however throughout Europe, China and Australia, too.
“I feel 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 unbelievable job with Tesla,” Trump stated of Musk.
Requested if shopping for a automobile would assist Tesla with its gross sales, Trump stated, “I hope it does.”
NPR’s Bobby Allyn contributed to this report.