President Donald Trump himself and a long list of his supporters have attempted to come to the aide of world’s richest man Elon Musk in recent days as his company’s stocks and Tesla sales have slumped here and in Europe.
The president recently touted how great the vehicles were as they were on display outside of the White House and his own Commerce Secretary was on Fox News Wednesday night urging people to buy Tesla stock, for example.
But when a social media account run by the Republican House Committee on the Judiciary posted to X that “Democrats are cheering for American companies to fail,” calling it “disgusting behavior,” critics were quick to call out the hypocrisy.
“Is this you?” author Shannon Watts posted to X, with an old tweet from the same account from 2023 that read, “Bud Light. Disney. Target. Go woke. Go broke.”
“Hmmm, this you House Judiciary GOP 22 months ago?” another X user commented.
Tesla has been pummeled this year under competition from rival electric vehicles, particularly out of China.
Numerous auto industry analysts have also pointed to Musk’s close association with Trump and with far-right causes globally. Tesla showrooms in the U.S. have been besieged by protesters and its vehicles vandalized on the street. Tesla owners, perhaps in a bid to avoid being targeted, have placed bumper stickers on their cars with messages like, “I bought it before Elon went nuts.”
Shares have plummeted 45% in 2025 and tumbled more than 15% to $222.15 earlier this month, the lowest since late October, reflecting newfound pessimism as sales crater around the globe.
Musk pumped $270 million into Trump’s campaign heading into the 2024 election, appeared on stage with him and cheered Trump’s victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.