U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will buy a new Tesla car to show support for the electric carmaker's chief and his ally Elon Musk amid recent "Tesla Takedown" protests and the slump in the company's stock price.
Shares of the automaker rose about 5% in premarket trading, rebounding from the biggest one-day fall in four-and-a half years.
Musk's role in sweeping cuts to the federal workforce at the behest of Trump has led to protests in the U.S. against Tesla.
About 350 demonstrators protested outside a Tesla electric vehicle dealership in Portland, Oregon, last week, while nine people were arrested during a raucous demonstration outside a New York City Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab dealership earlier in March.
Musk is spearheading the Trump administration's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump defended Musk, saying he was "putting it on the line" to help the country and was doing a "fantastic" job.
"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," Trump said.
Musk's reaction
Musk thanked the president for his support on his own social media platform X.
Trump in January took aim at electric vehicles, revoking a 2021 executive order signed by his predecessor Joe Biden that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030 were electric.
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 stock made after Musk-backed Trump won U.S. election in November.
The stock's decline since December stems from falling vehicle sales and profits, protests against Musk's political activity and investor worries that politics was distracting the world's richest man from tending to his cash cow.
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At least five people were killed and five others injured when an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran a runway and crashed while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday, 6 September, local officials said.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
A TV channel was struck during a live broadcast on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least three people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Meanwhile, drones hit civilian infrastructure in Russia's southwestern Saratov region.
Operations at several energy facilities in Saudi Arabia were suspended on Tuesday after attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi forces injured more than 70 people and sparked fires, Saudi authorities said.
Indonesia has reopened Jakarta's main airport and four others after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau forced widespread flight cancellations, though fresh eruptions have kept authorities on alert.
Huawei and Xiaomi have launched flagship foldable smartphones, intensifying the battle for China's premium handset market just days before Apple's latest product launch.
Israel said on Tuesday it was closing the British consulate in East Jerusalem after the UK, France and Canada announced plans to restrict imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
France will move to restrict imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, joining 11 other countries backing or considering similar measures, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday.
A TV channel was struck during a live broadcast on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least three people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Meanwhile, drones hit civilian infrastructure in Russia's southwestern Saratov region.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday a €200 million ($232 million) deal with Greenland, called the Global Gateway Partnership Package, aimed at strengthening the EU-Greenland partnership, amid growing U.S. interest in the Arctic island.
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