US State Department drops Musk's Tesla's name from procurement plan
Billionaire says he was not aware of plan, contends no one mentioned it
ISTANBUL
The US State Department revised its procurement forecast on Thursday, removing any mention of Elon Musk-owned Tesla from a planned contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars for armored electric vehicles.
The original procurement document, dated December 2024, included plans to purchase “armored Tesla” vehicles, likely Cybertrucks -- the company's battery electric pickup truck -- for an estimated 100 million to $500 million, Drop Site News and The New York Times reported Wednesday, with documents appearing in the archives.
The updated document now refers only to “armored electric vehicles,” without specifying Tesla.
The change follows concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving Musk’s close ties to the Trump administration and his significant campaign contributions.
Musk, who leads a government efficiency initiative and has criticized federal spending, denied awareness of the contract in an X post: “No one mentioned it to me.”
Despite the revision, the State Department still plans to acquire armored electric vehicles from other manufacturers.
