Investing.com -- It wasn’t long ago that going long or short Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock was the domain of Wall Street traders, hedge fund managers, and die-hard retail investors. Now, the activity has gone political.
On Jesse Watters’ Fox News program Wednesday evening, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told viewers to “buy Tesla stock.”
Lutnick said it is “unbelievable that Tesla’s stock is this cheap, and it may never be this cheap again.” He added that if people understood the technology, the robots that Musk is building with Tesla they are going to be “dreaming of today and they are going to be thinking of Jesse Watters show and think ‘gosh I should have bought Elon Musk’s stock’."
The Commerce Secretary called Musk the best entrepreneur, the best technologist, and the best leader of any set of companies.
The plug by Lutnick is in stark contrast to the negative view of Tesla’s stock by some on the other side of the aisle.
Minnesota governor and former VP candidate Tim Walz recently told a group that “if you need a little boost during the day, check out Tesla stock,” mocking the recent drop in the stock.
Tesla stock is down 42% year-to-date and has given back all of the “Trump bump.”
CEO Elon Musk has been at the center of the battle, given his leadership role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is tasked with cutting government waste.
Musk’s activities and close connection with U.S. President Donald Trump have led to protests, the bombing of Tesla dealerships, and outright rage.
President Trump has tried his best to support Musk, calling him a “great patriot” and even recently buying a Tesla vehicle at a White House ceremony.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said those who vandalize Tesla and Tesla dealerships are committing “domestic terrorism.” “The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” Bondi said.
Wall Street analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush is calling on Musk to “change the narrative” at Tesla. “Tesla is going through a crisis, and there is one person who can fix it....Musk,” Ives said.
The analyst called on Musk to “formally announce Musk is going to balance DOGE and being Tesla CEO” and “Give the roadmap and timing for the new lower cost vehicles to be released into the market in 2025 along with the unsupervised FSD roll-out in Austin in June.”
With Tesla stock, political battlelines have been drawn. Some may decide to dip their feet in the battle by buying Tesla stock, while others may be selling or shorting the stock. Still, others will be watching the spectacle from the sidelines. Where do you stand?