A Tesla vehicle is parked on West Executive Avenue near the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 5, 2025.
Jeff Mason | Reuters
President Donald Trump is the latest Tesla owner to think about getting rid of his car after souring on Elon Musk.
Trump is considering selling, or even giving away, the red Model S Tesla he bought in March, a senior White House official told NBC News, a day after the president’s alliance with Musk dramatically ruptured.
Trump purchased the electric vehicle to show support for Tesla, whose CEO, Musk, had come under fire from some customers and others for his work in the president’s administration on DOGE, a wide-ranging effort to slash government spending and workforce.
At the time, there had been a series of attacks on Tesla vehicles and locations linked to the company.
But Trump’s view of Musk sharply shifted Thursday, after days of the mega-billionaire criticizing a major tax bill that Trump wants Congress to pass.
Trump called Musk “crazy,” and threatened to cut federal government contracts with Musk’s companies, among them SpaceX.
The president has not made a final decision on what to do with his Tesla, according to the White House official who spoke to NBC.
The car is parked outside the White House.
Margo Martin, a special assistant to Trump, posted a photo of her and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt sitting in the Tesla last week.