Violence against Tesla dealers will be labelled domestic terrorism and the perpetrators will “go through hell”, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, the 11th of March, choosing bright red “Tesla” to support Elon Musk’s car company, which he calls “Elon’s baby“, according to Reuters and AP News.
“Will I get in?” he asked the media, before settling into the driver’s seat of a Model S, then saying “wow” and “it’s beautiful”.
Musk got into the passenger side and joked that “the Secret Service might have a heart attack” as they talked about how to start the vehicle.
Trump told reporters that he would write a check for the car, which is worth around 80 000 US dollars, and leave it at the White House for his staff to drive.
“It’s a great product,” he said. Speaking about Musk, Trump said that “we have to celebrate him”.
Trump just spoke to the media about buying a Tesla and said he hopes it boosts Tesla sales.
In response Musk claimed Tesla will double US production. This is unlikely given declining demand for his cars.
This is just two corrupt oligarchs scratching each other’s backs. pic.twitter.com/sXxqqx6bvD
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) March 11, 2025
After they arrived together at the White House to select a new Tesla, the company’s shares rose by almost 4% – after the biggest one-day drop in four and a half years the day before.
Since Trump took office in January, the company’s share price has fallen by almost 48%.
Activists have protested against Musk’s role in the government. Musk heads the government’s efficiency department, DOGE, which under Trump has cut federal jobs and cancelled humanitarian aid contracts.
“They’re hurting a great American company,” Trump said at the White House, referring to protesters alongside Musk, who was wearing a black hat with the slogan “Make America Great Again”. Several Tesla cars were lined up in a nearby driveway.
“Let me say this, if you do this to Tesla or any other company, we will catch you and… you will go through hell.”
White House spokesman Harrison Fields said that “the ongoing and horrific acts of violence against Tesla by radical leftists are nothing short of domestic terror.”
The group, which claimed to be the organiser of the Tesla Takedown protests, responded in a statement published on the social media “Bluesky” that the protests were peaceful and against violence.
“Peaceful protest on public property is not domestic terrorism. They are trying to intimidate us. We will not let them succeed,” the group said, calling on people to join the protests.
The media has also reported incidents of vandalism to Tesla vehicles and showrooms, which are under investigation.
Trump could order the US Department of Justice to bring terrorism charges against those who vandalised Tesla dealerships, but legal experts say it is unclear whether such charges would be admissible in court.
Trump cracked down on electric vehicles in January, reversing an executive order signed by his predecessor Joe Biden in 2021 that aimed to make half of all new vehicles sold in the US electric by 2030.
Since the 17th of December, when Tesla’s market capitalisation reached an all-time high of 1.5 trillion US dollars, it has more than halved, erasing most of the share price gains that followed the victory of Trump, backed by Musk, in the US elections in November.
The stock’s fall since December is linked to falling car sales and profits, protests against Musk’s political activities and investor concerns that politics are distracting the billionaire from taking care of his cash cow.
But at a White House event with Trump, Musk said he would double production in the next two years.