Electric cars and American presidential candidate Donald Trump are two things that don’t go hand in hand. He has always portrayed himself as a person who hates electric cars. The former President of the United States is once again contesting the elections, and recently an Instagram influencer approached him with a gift. The Instagram influencer gifted EV-hating Donald Trump a brand-new Tesla Cybertruck.
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Twenty-three-year-old Internet celebrity and social media influencer Adin Ross gifted the Cybertruck to Donald Trump. He is known to stir up controversy and has done similar things in the past. Not only did Adin Ross gift Trump a brand-new Cybertruck, but also a brand-new Rolex watch.
Surprisingly, Mr. Trump said, “I think it’s incredible” after seeing the Cybertruck in person. He checked out the EV truck that was parked in the porte-cochère of Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida. The Tesla Cybertruck, launched in 2023, is extremely popular among buyers.
The truck that was gifted to Mr. Trump is actually customized. It gets a red, white, and blue wrap with Mr. Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” emblazoned on the hood. The truck also has Donald Trump’s poster on both sides. The photo is, in fact, the one that was taken seconds after the attempt on his life at a campaign rally last month.
Mr. Trump climbed into the Cybertruck along with Ross and listened to songs from a custom-made playlist. Along with the car, Trump was also admiring the expensive Rolex watch that Ross gifted him. He said, “Wow, that’s so nice.” According to Tesla’s website, a brand-new Tesla Cybertruck costs $60,990 for the lower version, and the high-end trims can go up to $100,000.
The customized wrap on the car would have cost around $4,000, and the Rolex would have also cost over $5,000. While it may look all good, there is a problem. All of those price tags far exceed the federal limit on individual campaign contributions, which is $3,300 per election cycle, in cash or in-kind — making Mr. Ross’ show of generosity a potential campaign finance violation.
Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance expert, said, “I would expect that once Trump gets off the livestream and talks to his lawyers, he’ll be advised that he can’t accept these gifts and will have to turn them down or give them to charity. What other conclusion can you come to other than that this is an illegal and excessive campaign contribution?”
A few months ago, the billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk donated $180 million to Donald Trump’s campaign. However, despite this massive financial contribution, Trump made a bold statement that could affect Elon Musk and his Tesla. Donald Trump said, at the Republican National Convention, that he intends to “end the electric vehicle mandate” if elected.
He said, “I will END the Electric Vehicle Mandate on Day One — thereby saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration, which is happening right now, and saving U.S. customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car.” We’ll have to now wait and watch if Trump is going to turn down the Tesla Cybertruck that was gifted to him or will he come up with a way to keep it.
Via: The NY Times
The post Instagram Influencer Gifts EV-Hating Donald Trump A Tesla Cybertruck [Video] first appeared on Cartoq.
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