Shares in drone maker Unusual Machines surged more than 100% on Wednesday after the company announced Donald Trump Jr. had joined its advisory board.
Shares drifted down throughout the day, but were still up 76% by Wednesday afternoon. The stock had closed at $5.36 a share on Tuesday and traded at more than $9 on Wednesday – more than a 50% gain.
“Don Jr. joining our board of advisors provides us unique expertise we need as we bring drone component manufacturing back to America,” Unusual Machines CEO Allan Evans said in a statement.
The president-elect’s eldest son’s appointment comes two days after his father threatened to slap China with “an additional 10% tariff, above any additional tariffs” unless the country is able to stop the trafficking of chemicals used to make fentanyl through the US. Trump had previously threatened tariffs of 60% on import goods from China during his campaign.
“The need for drones is obvious. It is also obvious that we must stop buying Chinese drones and Chinese drone parts,” Don Jr. said in a statement. “I love what Unusual Machines is doing to bring drone manufacturing jobs back to the USA and am excited to take on a bigger role in the movement.”
Unusual Machines, which was founded in 2019, in a filing on Wednesday said its business is “heavily dependent” on Chinese imports and could be hampered by Trump’s proposed tariffs.
“If there are increased tariffs imposed, it could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations,” the drone maker said.
The company has denied claims that Don Jr. might help Unusual Machines secure government approvals.
“I would never ask him to do anything or facilitate anything like that,” Evans told The Wall Street Journal.
He said the president-elect’s son’s business network would help Unusual Machines meet demand for drone parts made outside of China.
Trump Jr. had previously owned 331,580 shares of Unusual Machines before a share offering and currently owns no shares, the company disclosed in the filing on Wednesday. It is unclear how much he paid for the shares or what price he sold them at.
Don Jr. joined venture capital firm 1789 Capital as a partner earlier this month and said he would recuse himself from business involving the government and has no interest in joining his father’s administration.
Department of Defense officials earlier this year approved an Unusual Machines flight controller for use in the military – the company’s first such rubber stamp, according to the Journal.
Earlier this month, the company reported $1.5 million in sales in the third quarter, mostly from selling drones directly to consumers. Unusual Machines reported $3.6 million in revenue for the nine months ended Sept. 30 and a net loss of $4.9 million in the same period.
In February, Unusual Machines went public and acquired the drone brands Fat Shark and Rotor Riot.
Unusual Machines is looking to move into sales of Pentagon-compliant drones and drone parts to businesses, the report said.
Evans told the Journal he thinks the incoming president’s more protectionist policies will help the drone industry flourish in the US.
Trump Jr.’s involvement with Unusual Machines was announced just a few days after Trump ally Elon Musk, who founded Tesla and SpaceX, slammed the Pentagon’s F-35 fighter jet program and argued in favor of the use of autonomous drones in warfare.
