- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says it is a good time to buy Tesla stock now.
- Lutnick said in a television interview it is “unbelievable” how “cheap” the stock is.
- Tesla shares have fallen by more than 50% from their record highs in mid-December.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made a quick pitch for Elon Musk’s Tesla during a television interview on Wednesday.
“I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla. It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again,” Lutnick said in an interview on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
“When people understand the things he’s building, the robots he’s building, the technology he’s building. People are going to be dreaming of today, and Jesse Watters, and thinking, ‘Gosh, I should have bought Elon Musk’s stock,'” Lutnick added.
Musk initially backed Lutnick for President Donald Trump’s treasury secretary pick. Musk wrote in an X post in November that Lutnick “will actually enact change” instead of Trump’s eventual choice, Scott Bessent, who Musk called the “business-as-usual” option.
Before entering government, Lutnick was the chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. The brokerage and investment bank, per an SEC filing made in February, owns Tesla shares. Lutnick agreed to divest his business interests in the bank following his confirmation as commerce secretary.
Tesla’s stock price has fallen by over 50% from its record highs. The company’s shares closed at about $235 on Wednesday, down from a peak closing price of $479 in mid-December.
The decline in Tesla stock comes as the company grapples with weakening sales and the controversy surrounding Musk’s work with the White House DOGE office. Scores of Musk protesters have descended upon Tesla showrooms nationwide in recent weeks.
“So you’re calling the bottom? This is it?” Watters asked Lutnick about Tesla’s stock on Wednesday.
“If today’s the bottom or not, I can tell you what — Elon Musk is probably the best person to bet on,” Lutnick said.
Tesla and the Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Lutnick isn’t the only government official who has voiced his support for Musk and Tesla.
Last week, Trump held a media event at the White House where he purchased a Model S. Multiple Tesla vehicles were parked on the south lawn of the White House during the event, which took place on March 11.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post ahead of the event that his purchase was a “show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”
On Tuesday, Musk blamed the political left for the protests and vandalism at Tesla dealerships.
“It’s really come as quite a shock to me that there is this level of, really, hatred and violence from the left,” Musk told Fox News’ “Hannity” on Tuesday.
“Tesla is a peaceful company. We have never done anything harmful. I have never done anything harmful, only done productive things,” Musk said.
