'Absolutely!' CNN panel slams Trump commerce secretary's 'conflict of interest'
CNN's Inside Politics' panel slammed Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Thursday for blatantly promoting Tesla stock in an effort to help owner Elon Musk.
Tesla has seen its stocks slump since Musk's affiliation with President Donald Trump and stewardship of the vastly unpopular Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), that has slashed whole departments and thousands of government jobs. Well-publicized recalls of Tesla vehicles, including Cybertrucks that had their parts fall off, have not helped the situation.
According to Business Insider, Tesla shares have "plummeted 53% from record highs reached in mid-December."
"Apparently there's a push to buy Tesla stock from the commerce secretary," Manu Raju said to introduce a clip of Fox News, where Lutnick told Jesse Watters about the benefits of buying Tesla stock.
As Lutnick gave a full-throated endorsement of Tesla, vehicles were seen smoldering, set ablaze by Musk protesters throwing Molotov cocktails in Las Vegas.
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"I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla!" Lutnick told host Jesse Watters. "It's unbelievable that this guy's stock is this cheap. It will never be this cheap again. 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. I mean, who wouldn't invest in Elon Musk?"
After the clip ended, Raju interjected, "I mean, this is the commerce secretary telling people to buy Tesla stock. And this is after Trump tried to sell Teslas on the White House lawn!"
"Yeah, nice to have friends in high places, right, for your business?" quipped Leigh Ann Caldwell, chief Washington correspondent for Puck.
She continued, "This is absolutely a conflict of interest! You know, the Federal Election Commission, I'm sure is not really going to do anything about it. But, I mean, yeah, it's untoward. It's not what's supposed to happen. And we obviously see what the political and personal benefit is for Donald Trump and Elon Musk."
She added that Musk "is funding Republican candidates around the country, too."
"And he will continue to do that, and I suspect they'll continue to push from the White House and administration to help Tesla," Raju said.