Donald Trump got a Tesla Cybertruck from a controversial influencer—right after the former president said EVs will ‘destroy the country’

After interviewing Trump for a little over an hour, Ross led Trump outside of his Mar-a-Lago home to present the Cybertruck, which was adorned with the now-iconic photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist after being shot, a flurry of American flags, and a red “Make America Great Again” logo wrapped at the front.  

“That’s an Elon,” Trump joked as he saw the car, referring to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “It’s beautiful. It’s incredible.”

The gift came almost immediately after Trump went on a four minute rant about an “electric vehicle mandate” that will “destroy the country.” 

The Republican nominee began by talking about the extraordinary amount of electricity that A.I. requires, and that if he became president, he would build more power plants to accommodate the new technology. Then, he turned his attention toward what he saw as wastes of electricity. 

“You know, they have this electric car mandate, and [electric cars] don’t go far. They cost a lot. They’re gonna be made in China,” Trump said. “And under Biden, he wants everybody to drive electric: No more gas-propelled cars, no more hybrids, no more anything. Think of it. How crazy.” 

He then focused his attention on the short distance electric cars can go compared to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles that use gasoline or diesel.  

“Same thing with trucks; they want trucks to go electric,” Trump said. He said that to get from his home in Mar-a-Lago to Los Angeles, an electric truck has to make “six stops,” whereas a diesel truck can make no stops over the roughly 2,600 mile trek. 

“One gentleman, the biggest guy in that business, he said to me that ‘all my life I’ve been buying trucks, 50 years I’ve been buying trucks, and every year they got better, bigger, stronger, more beautiful,” Trump said. “He said a truck 50 years ago would have been better than what they’re making us use right now. And I say, ‘When you explain that, do they do anything?’ They sit there they look and they say, ‘We don’t care. That’s our mandate. You have to go all-electric.’” 

“Horrible,” Ross replied. He then went on to close the interview. “I know you’re very busy… but I do want to give you this last gift,” Ross said, referring to the Cybertruck. 

Ross and Trump sat in the truck and listened to the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Michael Jackson (“a very good guy,” Trump said). The former President did not extensively talk about or praise the truck beyond first calling it “beautiful” and “incredible,” but he sent a message to Musk, saying “Elon, you’re great. I don’t know if you’re seeing this but you’re really good.” 

Over half a million people watched the stream live, according to Ross. He praised Trump and also gave him a Rolex watch. Ross has faced multiple bans from streaming platforms for the use of hate speech and showing inappropriate content during livestreams. He has also supported influencer Andrew Tate, who is facing serious legal issues including charges of rape and human trafficking.

The Cybertruck gift comes one day after Trump said he had “no choice” but to support electric cars since Musk began endorsing him. 

After a history of dismissing electric vehicles, Trump told supporters in Atlanta that they aren’t all that bad. He added that they could continue to be a small slice of the U.S. car market should he retake the White House. 

“I’m for electric cars. I have to be, you know, because Elon Musk endorsed me very strongly,” he said in comments shared widely throughout Musk’s fan base by accounts like John Stringer’s Tesla Owners Silicon Valley and blog site Teslarati. “So I have no choice.”

Now, Trump may have no choice but to become a Tesla owner himself. It is unclear if he accepted the gift or not. 

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.