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00:00A Tesla takeover on the South Lawn of the White House.
00:04A total of five vehicles from the carmaker, on display for US President Donald Trump to
00:09inspect personally, under the watchful eye of his advisor slash Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
00:16Trump quickly slammed the takeover protest movement that has seen demonstrations and
00:19vandalism grip Tesla facilities.
00:22Anger spilling over in response to Musk's controversial role as government efficiency
00:26czar, as well as numerous questionable comments and gestures evoking Nazi symbolism in the
00:32past few months.
00:50Trump later took to his Truth Social platform posting that he planned to buy a Tesla of
00:54his own.
00:56Tuesday's events have sparked backlash with some critics accusing the president of violating
01:00federal ethics rules.
01:02Reacting to the Tesla showcase, Senator Chris Murphy said just because the corruption plays
01:07out in public doesn't mean it's not corruption.
01:10Others have compared it to a government bailout of sorts amid the carmaker's sale slump.
01:16It's not the first time Trump has been accused of misusing his presidential platform.
01:20During his first term, the leader and his daughter Ivanka Trump came under fire for
01:25posing with cans of Goya beans.
01:27The photo op came after the company's CEO lauded Trump.
01:31Meanwhile the president continues to cash in on his online store.
01:34His merchandising operation moved into overdrive between election day and his inauguration
01:39in January, launching at least 168 new products.
01:44The Trump organization has made an ethics pledge that disassociates the leader from
01:48the store's day-to-day management, but its sales are still putting money directly into
01:53the president's pockets.