Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
U.S. President Donald Trump said late on Monday that he plans to buy a Tesla on Tuesday morning, calling it “a show of confidence and support” for the company’s CEO, Elon Musk.
The message was shared shortly after Tesla shares extended their decline and closed 15.4% lower at $222. Despite a post-election surge, the stock has erased those gains and lost more than $800 billion in market capitalization from its record high in December.
“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,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump praised Musk for “putting it on the line” to help the country and criticized what he called “Radical Left Lunatics” for allegedly colluding to boycott Tesla. “Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???” he added.
Musk later shared a screenshot of Trump’s post on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption, “Thank you, President Donald Trump!”
Earlier on Monday, UBS analyst Joseph Spak lowered his price target on Tesla to $225 from $259 while maintaining a Sell rating, citing weaker-than-expected delivery volumes as a key concern.
Trump’s Statement
“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!
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 added
They tried to do it to me at the 2024 Presidential Ballot Box, but how did that work out? In any event, 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???”
Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, said last week that Chinese carmakers, including the world’s largest new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer, BYD, benefit from unfair advantages that allow them to dominate global markets.
He pointed to labor conditions and environmental regulations as key factors in the cost disparity between Chinese and U.S. manufacturers.
