House Democrats pile on Trump criticism after ‘quid pro quo’ Tesla endorsement

Elon Musk is cashing in his favors big time. Before Donald Trump’s latest stunt in the White House, there was grumbling about how Musk seemed to have him eating out of his hands. 

Those grumblings are growing into shouts after the United States president cut a promo for Tesla on the White House lawn. Many people, including House Democrats, have been protesting, expressing discontent over Musk’s political affiliations and Trump’s endorsement of the brand, which has alienated some of its traditional supporters.

Trump’s public endorsement of Tesla on the White House lawn

On Monday night, Trump took to Truth Social to tease that he would buy a Tesla and praised Musk for doing a fantastic job “‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation.”

Trump also criticized Democrats in the post for “trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla … in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for,” before promising that he would purchase “a brand new Tesla” the next day as a show of confidence and support for Musk whom he called a “truly great American.”

Musk brought five Tesla vehicles for Trump to view on Tuesday afternoon. The president remarked on its beauty and how “everything’s computer” immediately he climbed into the driver’s seat.

The car he eventually purchased, a sleek red model, cost about $78,000, and Trump said he would pay in full. The car will be used by his staff at the White House as the Secret Service has a policy of not letting past and current presidents drive on public roads.

Public reaction has been characteristically divisive

As with all topics in politics, people have mixed feelings about Trump going all out for Musk on the White House lawn.

Representative Nydia Velázquez, an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 7th Congressional District since 2013, is one of those who have been vocal with their disapproval.

“Trump cuts a Tesla ad at the White House, and Elon thanks him with a $100 million donation. Outright corruption,” she wrote , quoting a post that revealed Elon Musk “has signaled to Trump’s advisers that he wants to direct $100 million into Trump-controlled political entities.”

Under that tweet, commenters took different stances; one user refuted Trump’s claim that Musk is a patriot, claiming that what the billionaire is contributing is simply him buying more favors.

Another user declared that Musk’s endgame was running the country, while one claimed it was simply a case of scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

Those who defended the action pointed out that this is not the first time a president has endorsed a car company. Some shared pictures of Biden waving from inside a Jeep made by the foreign-owned Stellantis on White House grounds.

These people think those making a big deal out of the endorsement are simply nitpicking and trying to find fault where there is none. Another person who has been very vocal about his disdain for what Trump did is Anderson Cooper, a famous news personality with an axe to grind against Trump.

The CNN anchor went on a rant against the president, going as far as to compare him to a car salesman.

“For about 36 minutes today, the south lawn of the White House was transformed into a Tesla showroom – a live advertisement featuring the president and the man he told Congress last week headed the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk,” Cooper claimed.

“This was, as the president described it, meant to be a boost to Musk and Tesla – specifically, encouraging people to but those cars… they are having sales issues right now, and the president was wanting to help his largest donor,” he added.

Cooper pointed out that even though the financial markets were plummeting over Trump-led tariff uncertainties, the president spent little time discussing any of that because “he had Teslas to sell.”

Will Trump’s endorsement increase Tesla sales?

Tesla’s share price has plummeted by a third over the last month. The company has suffered as Musk’s relationship with the president blossoms.

One of Tesla’s key selling points was that a car running on electricity saves the planet by eliminating carbon emissions; it made the electric vehicle maker a gem beloved by liberal environmentalists, many of whom are now appalled by Musk’s growing closeness to Trump and his frequent right-wing pronouncements.

A red Tesla Model Y exhibit at a Tesla factory. Source: Tesla (X/Twitter)

The company’s struggles have worsened since Musk took on his role as the leader of DOGE in the Trump administration. Vandals have targeted Tesla dealerships and cars across the country, protesters have gone after the company, and sales of its electric vehicles in Europe fell at the start of the year.

The company faced its worst daily loss since September on Monday as Wall Street broadly noted uncertain investor sentiment amid tariff threats that have canceled the 91% rally Tesla enjoyed post-Trump election win.

Meanwhile, Musk continues to face resistance for his role leading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly arguing with him at the White House last week.

Trump’s very public endorsement of Tesla is likely to restore investor confidence in its stocks, but that could be temporary relief pending Musk and Trump’s next agenda.

Trump is no longer the Republican president famous for his dislike of electric vehicles, and although 2024 polls showed 71% of conservatives had no interest in buying an EV, the latest endorsement from Trump could encourage more of them to give EVs a chance.

If the president comes through for Tesla with his influence on Republicans and conservatives comes through, he would have converted a majority of the resistance to electric-powered vehicles.

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