What did Trump say about electric cars in the past? President buys a red Tesla, poses with Elon Musk in front of White House

On March 10, 2025, President Trump announced he would buy a Tesla to support Elon Musk amid criticism of his government ties. The next day, he purchased a red Tesla Model S for $80,000 by check.

Trump and Musk were seen outside the White House inspecting Teslas before he chose the Model S. Trump called it a "great product" and hoped his endorsement would boost Tesla's struggling sales and stock.

However, despite his recent endorsement of Musk's electric vehicle company, the president has previously expressed his disdain for electric vehicles several times. He claimed electric cars did not go too far and "cost a fortune" during a rally in Ankeny, Iowa, in December 2023.

"They don’t go far. They cost a lot of money. They got some basic problems. They're very expensive and they don't go far. I think they want to keep you somewhere around your home. They don't want to build highways or something. They got some crazy plan," he said.

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Exploring the other times Donald Trump talked about electric vehicles

Donald Trump's recent endorsement of Tesla surprised people considering his former opinions about electric cars. According to AP News, the president criticized the lack of distance covered by electric cars during a November 2023 rally in New Hampshire, saying:

“You can’t get out of New Hampshire in an electric car. Where are you going? ‘I’m going to Massachusetts.’ Well, you better get yourself a gas turbine because this car is not going to get you there. Well, you could, if you stop about four times.”

He was also critical of former president Joe Biden's electric car mandate, which encouraged people to purchase more electric cars in an initiative to make 50% of new vehicles sold in the US battery-powered by 2030.

However, Trump announced his plans to revoke the mandate during his inauguration speech in January 2025, adding that he planned to "save our auto industry" and keep his "sacred pledge" to allow people to "buy the car of your choice."

According to AP News, Donald Trump has also been critical of Elon Musk in the past. In 2022, the president mocked Musk for asking for his help on his subsidized projects, writing in a social media post at the time:

“When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he’d be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, ‘drop to your knees and beg,’ and he would have done it."

Elon Musk was a major financial supporter of Trump during the 2024 election. On March 11, after buying a Tesla, the president told reporters that Musk had been "treated very unfairly."

He added that he wanted people to know that Musk should not be "penalized for being a patriot," praising him for doing an "incredible job" with Tesla. He also added that he would leave the car on the White House grounds for his staff to drive as he is not allowed to drive for security reasons.

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According to AP News, Trump's decision to buy a Tesla saw the company's stock prices increase by 4%. The stock price had previously decreased by almost 48% after the president took office in January 2025 and appointed Elon Musk to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which oversaw cost-cutting in the government.

This resulted in Musk ordering layoffs on a federal level to curb overspending, instigating a boycott against Tesla. Several protests have also been staged outside various Tesla showrooms across the US in recent weeks.