Musk’s Lawn Sale: Trump Buys Big to Dodge Tesla’s Blues
President Donald Trump turned the White House into a pop-up Tesla dealership Tuesday, plunking down cash for a cherry-red Model S in a flashy plug for his pal Elon Musk. Clutching a scribbled price list, Trump strutted across the South Lawn—now a makeshift car lot—declaring his purchase a “show of confidence” amid swirling anti-Tesla protests and a stock skid for the electric car giant.
The spectacle kicked off after Trump’s pre-dawn Truth Social vow: “Elon Musk is putting it on the line for our Nation—FANTASTIC JOB! I’m buying a Tesla to back him up.” By afternoon, four Teslas gleamed on the lawn, with Trump hopping into the Model S (noted at $108,990 in blue on his cheat sheet) alongside Musk. “Everything’s computer—beautiful, wow,” he marveled, though Secret Service kept the keys out of reach—presidents don’t drive.
Musk, grinning from the passenger seat, watched as Trump waved his notes like a car salesman sealing the deal. “I’ve got the prices right here—gonna make it a good one,” Trump quipped. He’d last bought a Cybertruck for his granddaughter Kai, 17, he told reporters, praising its golf-bag-friendly safety.
The stunt comes as Tesla reels from plunging sales and global backlash tied to Musk’s Trump administration role. Protests have torched cars in France and smashed a New York showroom. Yet Trump’s cheerleading sparked a ripple—Fox’s Sean Hannity tweeted he’d snagged a self-driving Tesla by nightfall.
It’s a head-spinning pivot for Trump, who’s bashed EVs as “Radical Left” folly—think his 2023 rant against “Fascists, Marxists, & Communists” or his inaugural pledge to kill an imagined Biden EV mandate (which never existed). Still, he’s flirted with the tech before—praising Lordstown Motors in 2020 and nodding to Musk’s 2024 endorsement. “I’m for electric cars,” he said in August. “Elon’s strong backing kinda forced my hand.”
For now, the White House lawn’s a Tesla billboard, and Trump’s playing hype man—ethics be damned.