As Tesla faces backlash, Trump buys one

Tesla vehicles and dealerships have been the target of nationwide vandalism since Elon Musk, the CEO of the electric vehicle company, has spotlighted US government spending as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

The multibillionaire Musk, once celebrated by environmentalists because of his successful mass production of EVs, has drawn the wrath of political opponents of US President Donald Trump, whom Musk has stoutly supported on X.com, the social media platform that he owns.

As of Tuesday, the DOGE website said the department so far has saved taxpayers $105 billion through a "combination of asset sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions".