Lifeline for Musk. Trump urgently buys new Tesla car

What Trump said

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump defended Musk, saying that he was "risking everything" to help the country and doing a "fantastic" job.

"Tomorrow morning, I will buy a new Tesla to express my confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American," Trump said.

Musk thanked the president for his support on his own social platform X.

In January, Trump spoke out against electric vehicles, rescinding an executive order signed by his predecessor Joe Biden in 2021 that stipulated that half of all new cars sold in the United States would be electric by 2030.

Trump said Musk is "putting everything on the line" to help the country and is doing a "fantastic" job (photo: Getty Images)

Reaction of Tesla shares

Equity market analysts said that the main reason for the low dynamics of the stock was concerns about Tesla's production plans and the drop in sales over the past year.

Analysts also note that Trump's economic policy on tariffs is also making investors nervous.

Markets in the US and Asia fell on Monday as investors worried about the economic impact of Trump's tariffs began selling off stocks.

This happened after the US president hinted at a possible recession in the country, saying in an interview that the world's largest economy is in a "transition period."

As part of the selloff, tech stocks also fell, with Tesla dropping 15.4 percent, while shares of artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia, owner of Facebook Meta, Amazon, and Google's parent company Alphabet also dropped significantly.

Tesla's market capitalization has more than halved since hitting an all-time high of $1.5 trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the company's shares made after Trump won the US election in November.

Tesla shares are back to about the level they were before the US election (photo: LSEG)

What is happening with Tesla sales in Europe

Tesla's sales in Europe have plummeted as the American electric car maker faces both business problems and public backlash over its CEO's unprecedented political activism.

Data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) shows that Tesla vehicle registrations in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are down 45 percent compared to January 2024 and early 2025. This is a sharp decline despite the overall growth in electric vehicle sales in the region, which increased by 37 percent over the same period.

Preliminary data released in individual countries for the same period also show that Tesla sales dropped by almost 60 percent in Germany, Europe's largest EV market, with larger drops also in France and Norway.

Mark Wakefield, head of the global automotive market at AlixPartners, warns that it is difficult to draw conclusions from just one month's data, as Tesla's deliveries can fluctuate significantly from month to month.

"You need to look at quarterly data," he says, adding that other data, such as the incentives Tesla offers to drive sales, also point to a slowdown in car demand.

Registrations are a closely monitored sales indicator (photo: ACEA)

Why did sales fall

There are several possible factors. Tesla still hasn't delivered the promised cheaper car, and its best-selling Model Y will soon receive an update, which may be the reason why some buyers are postponing their purchase.

Wakefield believes that the Model Y update is an important factor in Tesla's sales decline in Europe. But, according to him, "strong reactions" to Elon Musk's political activity "certainly have an impact as well."

Tesla Model Y (photo: Tesla)

It is worth noting that Musk's role in the large-scale federal employee layoffs ordered by Trump has led to protests in the US against Tesla. About 350 demonstrators protested outside a Tesla showroom in Portland, Oregon, last week, while nine people were arrested during a violent demonstration outside a Tesla showroom in New York in early March.

Broken windows of a Tesla dealership that was shot at by an unknown assailant (photo: Tigard Police Department)

Musk also heads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under the Trump administration.

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Ыources: Reuters, NPR, BBC.