President Trump wants to drill-baby-drill and, on
Tuesday, (11 Mar ’25) was in the market for an electric vehicle.
Like everything else in Washington these days, the
politics of car ownership has turned upside-down.
Trump didn’t just want any electric vehicle. He was
on a mission to purchase a Tesla—a sop to his adviser Elon Musk, who happens to
be the car company’s chief executive.
The Tesla was “the most Democratic car make by a
longshot,” according to a 2023 analysis of consumer data by Mike Shannon and
Will Feltus published in Fortune Magazine. Democratic strongholds of San
Francisco, Denver, Honolulu and Los Angeles had the highest concentration of
Tesla owners, they found.
But the car got a
Republican pitchman at Trump’s photo-op on Tuesday, where several models were
parked on the White House grounds for the president to inspect. Holding notes
that detailed the prices of each model, the president expounded on the virtues
of Musk’s vehicles...Trump noted that he hasn’t actually driven a car in a long
time, though he repeatedly said he loves to drive. The president said that he
plans to allow his staff to use the car. (A U.S. Secret Service official
confirmed that presidents can only pilot their own vehicles in controlled and
secure settings, which don’t include public roads.)
...Trump, who
frequently brags about his prowess as a tough negotiator, said he wasn’t
looking for a deal on Tuesday. “I’m president,” Trump said, “so I want to pay
full price.”