To show his support for his close adviser Elon Musk, Donald Trump said he would buy a "brand new Tesla" - hours after the automaker's share price plummeted and opponents of the US president called for a boycott.
"For Republicans, conservatives and all great Americans, Elon Musk is going to the front lines to help our nation, and doing a FANTASTIC JOB!", Trump wrote on his Truth Social network, as quoted by AFP.
An adviser to the president, Elon Musk is a key element in the Trump administration and in particular drives the work of the commission charged with drastically cutting the federal government's spending (DOGE).
"The radical leftist crazies, as they often do, are trying to illegally boycott Tesla, one of the largest automakers in the world and Ilon's 'baby,' in order to attack and harm Elon and everything he stands for," he charged.
He added: "Tomorrow morning I'm going to buy a brand new Tesla as a sign of confidence and support for Elon Musk."
On March 10, shares of electric-car pioneer Tesla fell more than 15 percent on the New York Stock Exchange as the manufacturer suffered from falling sales and a sharp downturn in Wall Street's technology sector. The company's market value has halved since December.
Ilon Musk's stance alongside Donald Trump has cooled some buyers, though it's still hard to gauge how much the billionaire and his support for the far right in Europe may have alienated potential Tesla customers. On the other hand, there have been calls for a boycott in recent weeks.
A number of French-speaking anarchist platforms have been circulating calls for an attack on Tesla, and in early March people posing as members of an anarchist collective set fire to a dozen Tesla cars in Toulouse.
Tesla is still the global leader in electric cars, with models packed with technology and aggressively priced, but it is also slowing its growth rate due to a change in its lineup, with the launch of a new version of its star SUV, the Model Y.
Also on March 10, Elon Musk said X, the social network he owns, had suffered a "massive cyberattack" after thousands of users reported problems accessing the platform for hours. | BGNES