It was almost an extraordinary scene in front of the White House. As Tesla shares have been tanking since the year began, President Donald Trump held remarks outside of the White House with the company’s CEO and Department of Government Efficiency Head Elon Musk – all in front of a line of shiny Tesla vehicles.

Tesla's stock price has dropped more than 40% since President Trump took office and Elon stepped into his role at the Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE (though it has seen a bounce back after this event). There have also recently been protests at Tesla dealerships, and Teslas have been vandalized and burned.