Tesla's stock price has dropped more than 40% since President Trump took office and Elon stepped into his role at the Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE (though it has seen a bounce back after this event). There have also recently been protests at Tesla dealerships, and Teslas have been vandalized and burned.

Ethics experts are sounding the alarm that the president's event with Elon Musk could eliminate the lines of proper objectivity from elected officials.