Musk initially celebrated his White House car show on Tuesday, but his posts on X eventually took a darker turn. By Wednesday, he was promoting theories that protests and vandalism at Tesla dealerships were part of a Democrat-funded effort to undermine him.

The Biden White House explained the snub by noting that the automakers that had been invited were the nation’s three largest employers of the United Auto Workers, a powerful union, and it suggested that the administration would find other ways to partner Tesla. (Union animus towards electric vehicles later became a problem for Mr Biden.)

Ethics experts are sounding the alarm that the president's event with Elon Musk could eliminate the lines of proper objectivity from elected officials.

Trump told reporters he would write a check for the car, which retails for roughly $80,000, and leave it at the White House so his staff can drive it. The president also said he hopes his purchase will boost Tesla,