US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged Fox News viewers Wednesday night to buy Tesla stock, an apparent violation of federal ethics rules that prohibit officials from endorsing products or businesses.
His promotion of Tesla was the latest move by a Trump administration official to bolster support for Elon Musk’s car company as it becomes a target for voters upset about the sweeping, unprecedented cuts Musk is leading across the federal government through the U.S. DOGE Service.
“I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla. It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again,” Lutnick said on Fox News.
With only a few exceptions, the Code of Federal Regulations prohibits executive branch employees from using their public office “for the endorsement of any product, service, or enterprise.” Employees are also generally barred from giving preferential treatment to an individual or organization. Those ethical rules, along with the tenet that officials shouldn’t use their public office for private gain, are central to American democratic norms, advocates for ethics in government said.
Lutnick’s comments could be interpreted as attempting to aid in enriching Musk, and they add to a growing perception that “the Trump administration is trying to help Elon Musk,” said Jordan Libowitz, spokesperson for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
“And whether or not that is true … that’s the kind of thing that you would want them to avoid because you don’t want the White House to be seen as playing favorites,” Libowitz said.
Tesla has faced a declining stock price, consumer boycotts and investor frustration since DOGE began its efforts to dismantle the federal bureaucracy with dramatic job and budget cuts. Peaceful protesters have demonstrated at dozens of Tesla facilities across the United States and Europe, and Tesla cars and lots have been targeted with violence in a string of recent incidents.
As Musk’s alliance with Trump has drawn criticism, Trump and his allies have moved to push conservative support Musk’s way. Last week, Trump showcased Tesla vehicles on the White House’s South Lawn and announced he was purchasing one for himself as he stood in solidarity with Musk, Trump’s biggest donor of the 2024 election cycle.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has threatened to come after anti-Tesla protesters, and Musk indicated that the administration will treat those committing acts of violence as domestic terrorists. On Fox News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will pursue “the harshest penalties” for those involved.
During his interview Wednesday with Jesse Watters on Fox News, Lutnick went on to hype Musk’s work and signaled to viewers that they would regret not investing in the tech billionaire’s company.
“When people understand the things he’s building, the robots he’s building, the technology he’s building, people are going to be dreaming of today and Jesse Watters and thinking,‘Gosh, I should have bought Elon Musk’s stock,’” Lutnick said.
Advocates for ethics in government said it is outside norms for a presidential administration to focus so much on promoting a single company — especially one that is run by a senior member of the administration and at a time when it needs a boost.
While agencies are traditionally responsible for handling any potential code violations internally, the federal rules are clear in prohibiting officials from making endorsements, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight.
“The basic obligation of our system of government is that public service should not be entangled with personal financial gain. That’s ultimately what an oligarchy is — when you’re entangling political power with private gain,” Brian said. “So these are the kinds of conflicts that get to the heart of what makes our constitution special, in a way.”
A spokesperson for Lutnick, Benno Kass, declined to comment when reached by The Washington Post.
Talking to reporters Thursday, Leavitt didn’t directly answer a question about whether it was proper for the commerce secretary to recommend Americans invest in a particular stock. She said Lutnick “was reiterating” that Trump supports “an American-made company like Tesla” and she denounced the vandalism of Tesla vehicles.
It’s not unusual for Cabinet officials to promote American industry and products, but administrations normally avoid creating any perception of playing favorites, Libowitz said. Encouraging stock buys rather than talking about products is also unusual, he said.
Lutnick’s promotion of Tesla stock is particularly concerning coming after Trump’s Tesla event at the White House, Libowitz said.
“It sure makes it look like the administration is trying to bolster the stock,” Libowitz said, “and you have to ask, would they be doing this if it was a company not tied to someone in the administration?”
Tesla’s stock has sharply declined since a peak in December at around $480 per share. After minor price fluctuations Thursday, Tesla was priced at $236.26 a share at market close.
The White House has asserted that Musk’s business interests would not conflict with his work in the administration, which includes cutting budgets at the same agencies with which his companies contract. Musk’s companies have received billions of dollars from the federal government and are on track to receive $11.8 billion from ongoing contracts over the next few years, a Post analysis found.
Trump has not shied away from potential conflicts of interest in his political career. In his first term, ethics watchdogs raised concerns about his family business empire. This time around, Trump’s potential conflicts extend beyond his hotels and real estate deals into cryptocurrency and media company stock.
Brian said Lutnick’s comments indicated that Trump’s previous flouting of ethics norms may be affecting how his officials behave.
“Nothing happened when the president allowed the head of Tesla to have, essentially, an ad in front of the White House with him. Now it appears that other government officers perceive that it’s free game to violate these laws,” she said. “It’s a clear public statement that the administration is embracing the idea that they can ignore our legal standards.”
Tesla attackers to El Salvador prisons
President Donald Trump suggested Friday that people found guilty of attacking Tesla properties could serve their sentences in El Salvador prisons, sharply ramping up his rhetoric in defense of Elon Musk’s company amid an intensifying backlash.
The president’s threat on Truth Social added to his administration’s increasingly vocal support for Musk, the billionaire and Trump megadonor who is now leading the divisive government-slashing DOGE initiative.
The efforts to back up Musk have come as Tesla’s stock price has plummeted in recent months, shrinking the EV maker’s value by hundreds of billions of dollars. At the same time, Tesla cars and showrooms have become targets for arson attacks and vandalism.
“I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,” Trump wrote in the social media post Friday morning.
“Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!” he wrote, referring to his administration’s controversial deportation of alleged gang members.
Tesla shares have lost about 50 % of its value in recent weeks as Musk has stoked controversy over his leadership of DOGE.
The Washington Post/ CNBC