Tesla's name has been removed from a State Department document that had originally stated the Trump administration was scheduled purchase $400 million worth of armored Tesla vehicles, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
The nearly half a billion dollar contract had raised eyebrows due to Telsa CEO Elon Musk's prominent role in President Donald Trump's White House. On Wednesday evening, the contract was revised to remove the Tesla name and instead opted for the more innocuous "armored electric vehicles," according to the outlet. The original contract did not specifically state which Tesla model, but the electric Cybertruck, which has a body of high-strength stainless steel, appears the most obvious.
Musk disputed the claim early Thursday morning on X, posting, "I'm pretty sure Tesla isn't getting $400M. No one mentioned it to me, at least."
The companies owned by Musk already have several lucrative government contracts, having secured over $13 billion in federal business over the years — the most prominent being SpaceX. Not all of the $400 million would go directly to Tesla. Armormax, a company based in Ogden, Utah, that upgrades vehicles to withstand attacks, would receive a portion of the funds. Justin Johnson, operations manager at Armormax, told the Times that there had been interest in the company's specialty from the Trump administration, but he was not authorized to comment further.
Regardless of which company is ultimately used to fulfill the government's order, the mention of electric vehicles in a contract from the Trump administration has raised curiosity among skeptics. Last week the administration paused a federal clean energy program to expand the country's network of electric vehicle charging stations. The memo from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) informed state transportation directors that the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program will be under review, adding that "no new obligations may occur under the NEVI Formula Program" effective immediately.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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