Following Donald Trump publicly buying a Tesla to support Elon Musk, the companies value has skyrocketed.
The 78-year-old president posed with several Tesla models on the South Lawn on March 11, praising the company’s innovation while fiercely defending Musk against what he called “unfair treatment” from critics.
The event came just hours after Trump took to Truth Social to address growing calls for a Tesla boycott, pledging his support for Musk and vowing to buy a new Tesla himself.
He wrote: “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. Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”
True to his word, Trump arrived at the event ready to purchase a Tesla Model S for himself and a Cybertruck for his 17-year-old granddaughter, Kai Trump.
Whether a publicity stunt or not, the impact was immediate. Tesla’s market capitalization soared by $56.3 billion the next day, reaching $780 billion, as reported by Newsweek.
Shares in Tesla surged by 7.6% within 24 hours, marking one of the company’s biggest single-day gains in months.
The electric carmaker had been struggling, losing half its value in recent months amid declining sales, factory shutdowns, and anti-Tesla protests sweeping across the U.S. and Europe.
Political activists, angered by Musk’s cost-cutting in federal government projects had been organizing “Tesla takedown protests.”
While most demonstrations remained peaceful, some escalated into arson attacks, with Tesla showrooms and charging stations set on fire in Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York.
Trump wasted no time in condemning the vandalism and issued a stern warning during a White House press conference: “Those people are going to have a big problem when we catch them. We’ve got a lot of cameras up, we already know who some of them are. We’re going to catch them. And they’re bad guys.”
When asked if he would classify violent anti-Tesla protesters as domestic terrorists, Trump didn’t hesitate: “I will do that, I’ll do it. I’m going to stop them.”
Despite writing a personal check for the Model S, Trump acknowledged that he won’t actually be able to drive it due to Secret Service restrictions.
“I’m gonna buy one, now here’s the bad news. I’m not allowed to drive,” he admitted. “I haven’t driven a car in a long time. And I love to drive cars. But I’m gonna have it at the White House and I’m gonna let my staff use it. I’m gonna let people at the place use it. They all are all excited about that.”
With Tesla’s stock rebounding and Musk receiving presidential backing, the tech mogul may have dodged a financial disaster—at least for now.
