President Trump and White House senior adviser, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk depart after looking at Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday.
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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Trump stepped into a car outside the White House on Tuesday afternoon — but not the usual high-security presidential limousine known as “The Beast.”
Instead of the presidential motorcade of large, black SUVs lined up on the driveway of the South Lawn, there were five Teslas for Trump to peruse.
Trump announced his intention to buy a Tesla on Monday night to support his close adviser billionaire Elon Musk, who is the CEO of the car company.
“That’s beautiful,” Trump said, getting into the front seat of a red Model S on Tuesday.
That the president made such a public backing of a private company is unusual, and a possible ethical violation. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on if ethics rules were followed.
Trump’s purchase is also another example of Musk blurring the line between his roles in government, where he leads the administration’s government efficiency effort, and in the private sector, as the head of Tesla, SpaceX and X, formerly known as Twitter. His companies receive billions in federal contracts, even as the administration slashes spending across the government.
Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush, said the display appears to violate federal rules prohibiting the use of public office for private gain, though those rules do not apply to the president.
“It looks like a way of saying this economy will be driven by favoritism,” Painter said. “It looks like government picking winners and losers, and the government saying, ‘Tesla is the winner.’ “
Trump, who has revoked Biden-era efforts to incentivize electric vehicles, said he’d pay for the car with a check, and would keep it at the White House for staff to use.
Tesla sales have plummeted in recent weeks, and there have been protests and attacks on Tesla cars and charging stations. Sales are down not only in the U.S., but across Europe, China and Australia, too.
“I think he’s been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people, and I just want people to know that he can’t be penalized for being a patriot, and he’s a great patriot, and he’s also done an incredible job with Tesla,” Trump said of Musk.
Asked if buying a car would help Tesla with its sales, Trump said, “I hope it does.”
NPR’s Bobby Allyn contributed to this report.
