Tesla’s value has enjoyed a huge resurgence in the wake of Donald Trump publicly supporting Elon Musk following weeks of criticism.
Musk became a vital cog in the machine that helped Trump secure victory in last year’s presidential election, backing the POTUS both financially and via a dogged PR campaign on his social media platform, X.
Following Trump’s big win over Kamala Harris, Space X founder Musk was named head of the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and has since embarked upon a ruthless cost-cutting crusade to eliminate perceived over-spending within the federal government.
In doing so, Musk became public enemy number one in the eyes of thousands, with protests organized by political activists aiming to damage one of his most successful companies, Tesla.
The backlash, which has yielded any number of demonstrations, evolved to more destructive measures when fires were started at Tesla showrooms and charging stations across the US.
Last week, Musk lost nearly $9 billion as Tesla’s stock crashed. By the end of Thursday, Tesla’s stock had dropped 6%, wiping $8.8 billion from Musk’s net worth. His fortune dropped from $464 billion in December to just $342.8 billion.
Tesla’s stock has plummeted more than 50% since December, shocking both shareholders and analysts.
Cue President Donald Trump, who stepped in to defend the man he has named his “First Buddy” on Truth Social, claiming that “the Radical Left Lunatics” are trying to hurt “Elon’s ‘baby.’”
Trump threatened would-be vandals with charges of “domestic terrorism”, and recently appeared alongside Musk in a PR stunt outside on the White House lawn surrounded by Tesla vehicles. The President also vowed to buy a Republican red Tesla Model S, valued around $90,000, in a show of solidarity.
The stunt, it seems, was enough to spark a turn around in Tesla’s fortunes. As per Newsweek, citing CompaniesMarketCap, Tesla’s market capitalization soared by $56.3 billion on Wednesday (March 12) reaching a total of $780 billion.
The result saw the company’s share price rocket by 7.6 percent in 24 hours after Trump took to Truth Social to state: “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???”
According to reports, a Secret Service rule means Trump won’t be able to drive the car himself (for his own safety), so the vehicle in question was gifted to White House staff to use instead.
Needless to say, some are questioning the act of a sitting president endorsing an organization steered by a political ally to save it from financial damage. But, then, when has Trump ever concerned himself with the ins and outs of political correctness?
What did you make of the PR stunt involving Trump and Musk outside the White House? Leave your thoughts and feelings in the comments box!
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