Now, the State Department tells the NYT that the “solicitation is on hold, and there are no current plans to issue it.” It says it stems from a Biden administration request to explore armored electric vehicles.
The document was first published in December, just before President Donald Trump entered office but after he was elected. Since then, Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has shut down federal agencies, accessed sensitive payment systems, and offered “deferred resignation” agreements to thousands of government employees under the claim that it would cut government waste.
Though the document didn’t say which Tesla model the State Department planned to purchase, the NYT and Bloomberg say it likely referred to the Cybertruck, which features a stainless steel, “bullet-proof” body and windows made of Gorilla glass.
“I’m pretty sure Tesla isn’t getting $400M,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a reply on X. “No one mentioned it to me, at least.” The list also includes $40 million for armored BMW X5 and X7 vehicles, as well as unspecified mentions of “armored sedan” and “armored EV (not sedan).”
Update, February 13th: Added information from the NYT.
