Donald Trump, the President of the US, carried out what principally quantities to an infomercial on the White Home for Tesla, an organization managed by his largest political donor, a day after its inventory crashed.
Yesterday, Tesla’s inventory crashed 15% – leading to a 50% drop from its peak in December.
Final evening, Trump posted a message on Reality Social supporting Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO and his largest political donor. Within the message, he known as the Tesla boycotts “unlawful” and he said that he would be buying a Tesla vehicle to show his support for Musk.
He has apparently adopted by right this moment, however he went a fairly a bit additional as he held a press convention in entrance of Tesla autos on the White Home:
The President, who has beforehand shared misinformation about electrical autos being “unusable,” praised Tesla’s autos and stated that he could be shopping for a Mannequin S Plaid.
He’s not allowed to drive, so he stated that he would let White Home employees use the car as an alternative.
The President was photographed with notes that included speaking factors about Tesla’s pricing and “Full Self-Driving” options:
It falsely claimed that “all vehicles have self-driving, simply must be turned on”, which is deceptive since Tesla autos are incapable of self-driving. They’re outfitted with a degree 2 ADAS system that requires the supervision of a driver always, and Tesla takes no duty within the case of an accident.
Tesla’s inventory (TSLA) rose up 5% on the publicity stunt right this moment, but it surely closed up 3.8% in comparison with being down 15% yesterday.
Electrek’s Take
After I write these headlines, I really feel like I’m working The Onion in another universe the place satire is the truth.
However you may’t accuse me of “clickbaiting” as a result of this headline is definitely correct.
For years, Trump has been one of many largest promoters of misinformation about electrical autos within the US. We’ve got usually reported on the ridiculous issues he has stated about them.
That hasn’t modified. In truth, Trump remains to be pushing arduous in opposition to electrical autos. We lately reported on Trump shutting down 8,000 EV chargers at federal buildings and he’s pushing to take away the tax credit score on electrical autos.
That is purely transactional. Elon gave him $250 million, so now that Tesla’s inventory is in free fall, he offers him a lift.
Like his Bitcoin pump, it isn’t more likely to work. My hope is that it’s going to at the least assist open the minds of a few of his followers to electrical autos, however I’ve doubts.
FTC: We use revenue incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. More.
