Recent searches
Search options
Administered by:
A new document undercuts #Trump admin's denials about $400M #Tesla deal
The controversy started in a very Washington way: as a line item in a govt spreadsheet buried on the #State Dept's website.
It appeared as if the State Dept was taking steps to award #ElonMusk's Tesla a $400M government contract to buy armored electric vehicles to securely transport diplomats.
#FactCheck #TrumpLies
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/24/nx-s1-5305269/tesla-state-department-elon-musk-trump
When asked about it, #State issued a stmnt saying the plans are now on hold w/no plans of fulfilling the contract, pointing out that talks w/ #Tesla began under Biden.
But NPR has obtained a State Dept document detailing that #Biden's State Dept planned to spend just $483k in the 2025 fiscal year on buying EVs & $3M for supporting equipment…. It represented <1% of the hundreds of millions likely destined for Tesla vehicles after the #Trump admin quietly revised a State Dept procurement doc.
The vast discrepancy in the numbers raises the question: Was it an error, or a deliberate action?
A fmr #Biden WH ofcl familiar w/the #State Dept's plans told NPR the steps taken to advance $400M worth of govt business to #Musk appear to be intentional.
…The person said State & #Tesla had agreed during the Biden admin to conduct research about armoring EVs, but no money had been set aside….A total budget of $483k was approved to begin prototyping light-duty EVs as possible State Dept vehicles.
The #Trump White House & #Musk did not return multiple requests for comment.
In a statement to NPR on Monday, a #State Dept spox said the $400M figure was "an estimate," pointing out that it was in the early stages & was not yet a full contract, but rather a proposal "strictly to gather information."
The dept spox added: "the Department of State has no intention to move forward with the solicitation." [wink wink]
…After the original procurement document attracted widespread attention, NPR reported that the #Trump admin appeared to have quietly edited the doc, changing the phrase "armored #Tesla" to the more generic "armored electric vehicles" w/o explanation. Eventually, the item vanished from the #State Dept's procurement doc.
The document claims it was originally published in December, at the end of… #Biden's term, but it does not appear in the Internet Archive for that month.