Trump Declares 'No One Wants to Buy' Electric Vehicles in Resurfaced Clips After Testing Out Teslas at White House

Clips of President Donald Trump harshly criticizing electric vehicles (EVs) have resurfaced online, highlighting his past opposition to EVs in light of his recent endorsement of Tesla and Elon Musk.

Trump has long been a vocal critic of electric vehicles, frequently arguing that they are unpopular, unreliable, and environmentally inferior to gas-powered cars.

In December 2023, during a town hall with Sean Hannity, he claimed, "nobody wants to buy them" because of their alleged limit battery capacity, saying they cannot drive for long distances.

"They have so many electric vehicles, nobody wants to buy them. They're expensive. Although you'll probably get them pretty cheap now, nobody wants to buy them," Trump said. "So this thing, every time you make a car, we give you thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. And the people don't want them."

In another clip from Trump's October 2023 tour of Iowa, Trump told his Ottumwa audience that EV owners have the tendency to become "somewhat schizophrenic" because their cars only run for about 10 minutes before losing charge, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported at the time.

"The happiest people in the world are the people who just got their electric vehicle charged, for 10 minutes," Trump said. "After that they become somewhat schizophrenic, because they're thinking about where the hell am I going to get a recharge?"

Throughout 2024, he continued attacking electric cars—until Musk, Tesla's CEO, endorsed him and invested over $250 million in his re-election efforts. In August 2024 during a rally in Atlanta, Trump publicly reversed his stance, declaring, "I am for electric cars."

"I am for electric cars. I have to because Elon endorsed me very strongly. So, I have no choice," Trump said.

Despite recently testing out Teslas at the White House signaling his shift, resurfaced videos of Trump's previous criticism have reignited debate about his sincerity and accusations of him flip-flopping to secure Musk's financial backing.