Trump goes to bat for Tesla as backlash, financial woes escalate

The White House is going to bat for Tesla as Elon Musk's electric vehicle (EV) company suffers from financial woes and faces increasingly violent backlash.

President Trump and top administration officials have touted Teslas on the White House lawn and urged Americans to buy the company's struggling stock. The Trump administration has also labeled vandalization of Tesla dealerships and vehicles as “domestic terrorism," and has filed federal charges against those suspected of destructive acts.

The level of support the Trump administration is putting behind the company is unprecedented, especially while Musk is a top adviser to Trump and is leading the efforts to cut federal workers and dismantle agencies.

As backlash to Tesla and Musk grows, the White House is doubling down on its defense of the company and the richest man in the world, who has become a bogeyman for the administration as critics blame him for the government overhaul.

“It’s wrong and illegal for the Commerce Secretary to be promoting Tesla stock or any specific stock for that matter,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) wrote in a post on X on Thursday. “It’s also wrong and illegal for people to vandalize and destroy Tesla cars. Corruption and violence both damage our democracy.”

Tesla’s stock has plummeted in recent weeks, falling nearly 39 percent since the beginning of the year and more than 50 percent since late December. The electric vehicle company, whose share price soared in the wake of Trump’s win in November, has shed more than $500 billion in market value in the first few months of 2025 amid concerns about Musk's attention to the company.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in an interview with Fox News, praised Musk as “the best entrepreneur, the best technologist, the best leader of any set of companies in America working for America.” Then, he suggested Americans buy Tesla stock.

“I think, if you want to learn something on this show tonight: Buy Tesla,” Lutnick said. “It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again.”

Tesla cars, dealerships, showrooms and charging stations have also been targeted with violent demonstrations, facing shootings, arson attacks and vandalism.

Attorney General Pam Bondi labeled the attacks on the electric vehicle (EV) company as “domestic terrorism” Tuesday and announced Thursday that three alleged perpetrators had been arrested and are facing “serious charges.”

The White House also hit back at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who was Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate in last year’s election, for mocking Tesla’s struggling stock during a speech this week. Walz said he checks it when he needs “a little boost during the day.”

“I think that’s quite sad, but I think Gov. Walz unfortunately has been living a sad existence after his devastating defeat on Nov. 5,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

Trump offered a personal show of support for Musk last week, promising to buy a Tesla while testing out a series of models parked outside the White House, where he argued his close ally was being “treated unfairly.”

“Trump buying a Tesla with an event at the White House last week is great political theater....but it does not resolve the current brand/demand problem for Musk and Tesla and in some ways makes it more of a political lightning rod issue for Tesla,” analysts with Wedbush Securities wrote in a note Wednesday evening.

Musk is central to Tesla’s brand, a fact that has been complicated by his role in the administration leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

DOGE’s push to slash trillions of dollars in government spending is not entirely popular. Six in 10 voters in a recent Quinnipiac University poll said they were unhappy with the cost-cutting panel’s handling of the federal workforce.

Musk himself has struggled to inspire confidence, with 62 percent saying in a CNN/SSRS poll earlier this month that the tech billionaire lacks the experience needed for his role in the administration and another 61 percent doubting his judgment.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives suggested that Musk needs to "take a step back" from his work at DOGE to focus on Tesla.

"There hasn't been a picture of Musk at a Tesla facility since Trump took office, where essentially he's been living at Mar-a-Lago or the White House," Ives told The Hill. "So that's why I think it's a movement of truth for Musk to read the room, take a step back and lead Tesla through this brand tornado crisis."

An aide in Trump’s first term called promoting Tesla stock a “bizarre, unforced error,” arguing it raises questions about the White House’s relationship to Musk.

“The Commerce Secretary’s job isn’t to play stockbroker on national television. But that’s exactly what happened,” the former aide said. “Lutnick didn’t just push a stock — he pushed a stock tied to the president’s top campaign donor, who has committed nearly $300 million to Trump and Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections. And coming right after the Tesla display at the White House? It’s a pattern, and it raises real questions.”

A longtime Republican lobbyist in Washington, who preferred to go unnamed, noted that Trump's relationship with Musk is far closer than those of past presidents and other businesses.

“I’m old enough to remember when Joe Biden headlined the dedication of General Motors’ Factory Zero and Barack Obama ‘spent a night on the town raising money and enjoying dinner’ with Elon Musk, per a CBS report, but as with all things Trump is going bigger, bolder and ballsier than any predecessor ever would,” the lobbyist said.

The Campaign Legal Center argued Thursday that Lutnick's comments violated federal ethics rules.

“His statement is part of a pattern of behavior showing that Trump’s indifference to ethics is trickling down to his most senior officials," Kedric Payne, CLC's vice president, general counsel and senior director for ethics, said in a statement.

And it’s not only Tesla that the White House is backing.

The Trump team also praised Musk throughout the week after his SpaceX company successfully brought back the stranded astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, from the International Space Station. The return was highlighted during a White House press briefing and in television interviews with officials, giving Musk, SpaceX and Trump credit for the success.

Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration is doing business with Musk’s Starlink.

While reports have emerged that the administration was considering canceling Verizon’s $2.4 billion contract to revamp its telecommunications system in favor of Musk’s satellite communications firm, Musk’s company has denied any effort to take over the contract. It is currently providing Starlink kits to the FAA for free.

Other areas that the Trump team has made money since January — including Trump and Melania Trump’s decision to launch meme coins shortly before inauguration, the Trump family’s reported talks with Binance as the administration pauses its case against the crypto exchange, and Amazon Prime Video licensing Melania Trump’s documentary — is also concerning to critics.

“The level of blatant, out-in-the-open, corruption in the Trump administration is frankly stunning,” said a former Treasury official in the Biden administration.

The source added, “Between the inflated Amazon film rights payout, the meme coins, and the alleged Binance pay-for-pardon, you’ve got example after example of government officials trying to line their pockets even as they work to slash programs like veterans’ healthcare and Medicaid.”

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