Donald Trump praises ‘Great American’ Elon Musk, plans to buy ‘brand new Tesla’ as shares tumble; billionaire responds

US President Donald Trump has praised Elon Musk, the world's richest man, for his efforts to “make America great again.” Trump even plans to buy a Tesla vehicle to support Musk's business.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump appreciated Tesla CEO Musk for his work under the DOGE Ministry, which aims to cut the expenses of the federal government.

What did Donald Trump say?

"To Republicans, Conservatives, and all great Americans, Elon Musk is "putting it on the line" in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! [sic]," Trump wrote.

He also called out people who are taking a dig at Musk and his brand, Tesla.

"But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World's great automakers, and Elon's "baby," in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for," Trump stated.

The US President also said he would buy a new Tesla to support Musk.

“They tried to do it to me at the 2024 Presidential Ballot Box, but how did that work out? In any event, I'm going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American,” he said.

“Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN??? [sic],” he added.

Elon Musk responds

Sharing Trump's post on Twitter (now X), the microblogging platform he owns, Musk wrote, “Thank you, President” and tagged the official handle of Donald Trump.

Elon Musk's struggle with business

In an interview with Fox Business, Elon Musk stated that he is running his business "with great difficulty" while working with the DOGE Ministry under the Trump administration. His statement comes after Tesla shares dropped to a five-month low on Monday.

The investors claim that Musk's role in DOGE is shifting his focus from companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI. Tesla shares fell 15 per cent to $222.15, significantly impacting the Nasdaq, which dropped 4 per cent amid concerns that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on key US trading partners could push the country into a recession.