The negotiations between Elon Musk’s Tesla and the State Department to acquire armored electric vehicles have been stalled by the Trump administration. The step was taken after revelations of a potential $400 million deal.
A spokesperson from the State Department mentioned that the eclectic vehicle company led by Musk, Tesla was the sole entity to show interest back in May 2024, during the presidency of Joe Biden. Musk has emerged as a billionaire advisor to President Donald Trump with ambitions to streamline government agencies and reduce the federal workforce.
Initially, the Tesla deal was expected to be the largest contract of the year highlighting how a portion of Musk’s wealth has been funded by taxpayers and it continues to be so.
His ventures rake in hundreds of millions annually through government contracts. For example, SpaceX has collected around $20 billion in federal funding since 2008 to launch astronauts as well as satellites.
In addition to this, Tesla has already received $41.9 million from the US government which consists of payments for vehicles that have been supplied to various US embassies.
It has been confirmed by the State Department that no contracts have been given to Tesla or any other manufacturers for the production of armored eclectic vehicles.
The Biden administrator in September directed the State Department to gather information from potential suppliers for these vehicles. According to data from the State Department which was released in December, a formal request for bids was scheduled to be issued in May.
However, it is now on hold, with no plans to process as it has been stated by the agency. After the emergence of reports regarding the purchase of Tesla, the State Department updated its expected contracts forecast for fiscal year 2025.The agency has clarified that the entry should have been categorized under a general electric vehicle manufacturer, there remains another entry from German automaker BMW.
Business Journalist
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