On March 11, U.S. President Trump purchased a brand new red Tesla Model S outside the White House to show his support for Elon Musk and Tesla.

Several Tesla models, including the Model S, Cybertruck, and Model Y, arrived outside the White House at noon for Trump to choose from.

Trump ultimately chose the Model S, saying, "I like that one, and I want the same color. I'll write a check, I don't want a discount."

Source: Global Times

When Trump sat in the driver's seat of the Model S, he exclaimed, "It's beautiful." He then discussed with Musk, who was sitting in the passenger seat, how to start the car. Musk joked, "This will give the Secret Service a heart attack."

Trump stated that he would write a check for about $80,000 to purchase the car and leave it at the White House for other staff to use, a rare instance for Trump to use his own money to support allies, no matter how important they are.

However, for security reasons, the U.S. President rarely drives himself. Additionally, Trump expressed hope that his purchase would boost Tesla's stock price. "It's a great product," he said.

Source: Global Times

The previous day, Trump posted on social media late at night, stating that he would buy a new Tesla the next day to support Musk and Tesla.

At Trump's request, Musk has recently been pushing for significant reductions in federal government staff, leading to protests against Tesla in the U.S. and a sharp decline in Tesla's sales in Europe.

According to reports, Tesla investors have been concerned that Musk's work leading the government's efficiency department to cut government spending would distract him from running Tesla, SpaceX, social platform X, and AI startup xAI.

In an interview on the 10th, when Musk was asked by the host, "I mean, how do you manage your other businesses?" Musk sighed and replied, "It's very difficult."

On March 10 local time, Tesla's market value shrank by $130 billion.

Musk also responded to the issue of social media platform X experiencing a malfunction on the 10th, stating that it was a large-scale cyber attack targeting X, with the source of the attack being either a large, organized, and planned group or a country.

He also mentioned that the attack's IP address originated from the Ukraine region.

Trump stated that he would classify recent violent actions against Tesla dealers as "domestic terrorism."