The US State Department has put its plan to buy $400 million worth of armored electric vehicles from Elon Musk’s Tesla company on hold, citing concerns about the deal. The Trump administration halted the contract talks after reports emerged that Tesla was the only interested party in May 2024. The proposed purchase was expected to be the largest contract of the year.
Tesla had expressed interest in supplying armored electric vehicles to the State Department, but a government official said no contract has been awarded to any manufacturer for this purpose. The Biden administration tasked the State Department with gathering information from potential suppliers in September and planned to release an official request for bids in May 2025. However, the solicitation is now on hold due to concerns over the Tesla deal.
The Trump administration’s decision comes as part of a broader effort to scrutinize government contracts awarded to private companies, including those owned by billionaires like Musk. The State Department has revised its data entry system to reflect the cancellation of the Tesla contract and maintains that no government contract has been given to Tesla or any other manufacturer for armored electric vehicles.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-tesla-biden-federal-contract-electric-vehicles-donald-trump-f8f5b07d03f6e0c9d072abd69feedec4