The baffling friendship between the current US president and his billionaire ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk was on display yesterday (11 March) when the 78-year-old decided to give the electronic car company a public display of confidence and purchase a new motor in front of the White House.
No, we’re not joking. This is an event which actually happened.
Donald Trump, US president and… car salesman? (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
That’s right folks, it only took two months of Trump presidency for before a Tesla was parked outside the White House.
So why is this happening you might ask, and why is there a Tesla outside one of the most recognisable buildings in the US?
One of Musk’s most recognisable companies, electronic cars have historically been popular with people who are more liberal or left leaning as they are more environmentally friendly than your classic gas guzzler.
But since Musk has very vocally aligned himself with the Trump train his traditional customers have left more alienated – which is evident through the recent decline in Tesla sales.
It seems this hasn’t gone unnoticed by Trump and Musk, with the pair essentially staging an infomercial outside the White House to promote the motors.
Praising Musk’s company, the president told reporters that he’d been penalised by the ‘radical left’ and decided the best way to support Tesla was to very publicly buy a car himself, despite no longer being allowed to drive a car.
The widely covered exchange generated a lot of media attention on Trump, Musk and Teslas, however, skeptics couldn’t help but spot that the president was carting round a shopping list detailing the different prices and models of Teslas.
And, of course, made sure that photographers got a snapshot of the list, which reads:
“Tesla Pricing:
“Full Self Driving:
“Model X – $112,490 (silver)
“CT – $114,000 (Gray)
“Model S – $108,990 (Blue)
“Model Y – $59,990 (Red).”
Below the list was a sentence which further pushed home the aim of the Tesla buying session, which read: “Teslas can be purchased as low as $299/month of $35k. All cars have self driving, just needs to be turned on (fee).”
The note in question (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Viewers were obviously divided by the spectacle, with many taking to social media to share their shock and confusion over what had just happened.
“Jesus. This is one of those pictures you see in history books for all the wrong reasons,” one person wrote on Reddit, while a second added: “This administration is so unserious. Not that I’m surprised or it’s anything new, but every week they escalate to a new level.”
“This guy should be a World Limbo Champion, because there is no bar he can’t go lower than,” a third joked.
