Trump may sell or give away his red Tesla bought for Musk photo-op amid meltdown

A Tesla vehicle is parked on West Executive Avenue outside the White House near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2025.

In an unexpected twist to his ongoing feud with Elon Musk, President Donald Trump is reportedly considering selling - or even giving away - the bright red Tesla he purchased earlier this year to publicly promote the billionaire’s electric vehicle company, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The vehicle, meant to symbolise Trump’s support for American innovation and Musk’s business empire, has become something of a political paperweight as tensions between the two men have escalated.

The red Tesla has reportedly remained parked outside the West Wing, unused and gathering curiosity from staffers and visitors alike. It became a symbolic centerpiece during an event earlier this year where Trump praised Musk as a “visionary” and declared Tesla a “triumph of American industry.” At the time, Musk was a prominent donor and informal advisor.

Shares in Tesla plummeted more than 15 percent Thursday, losing more than $100 billion in market capitalisation, as a spat deepened between Trump and Musk, the electric car company's CEO.

Trump and Musk's unlikely political marriage exploded in a fiery public divorce Thursday.

The president said in a televised Oval Office diatribe that he was "very disappointed" after his former aide and top donor criticized his "big, beautiful" spending bill before Congress.

The pair then hurled insults at each other on social media -- with Musk even posting, without proof, that Trump was referenced in government documents on disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The row could have major political and economic fallout, as shares in Musk's Tesla car company plunged and the South African-born tech tycoon vowed that he would end a critical US spaceship program.

But Trump played down the feud during an interview with Politico on Thursday, saying: "Oh it's okay. It's going very well, never done better."

A call with Musk has been scheduled by the White House on Friday in the hope of diffusing the situation, according to the outlet.

Speculation had long swirled that a relationship between the world's richest person and its most powerful could not last long -- but the speed of the meltdown took Washington by surprise.

"I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz looked on silently.

"Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore."

A hurt-sounding Trump, 78, said it had been only a week since he hosted a grand farewell for Musk as he left the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Trump later insisted he had asked the tycoon to leave because he was "wearing thin."

Musk, who was Trump's biggest campaign donor to the tune of $300 million, slammed the president for "ingratitude" and said the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without him.

As the spat got increasingly vindictive, Musk also posted that Trump "is in the Epstein files," referring to US government documents on the sex offender who killed himself while awaiting trial.