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The Trump administration is looking at a $400 million, five-year contract for “Armored Electric Vehicles” that could refer to Teslas.
The State Department had previously listed “Armored Tesla (TSLA+4.35%) (Product Units)” in its procurement forecast for 2025, according to multiple news outlets. It has since revised that line item to “Armored Electric Vehicles.”
On his social media site X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to a segment from MSNBC (CMCSA+1.22%) host Rachel Maddow about the $400 million deal for armored Teslas, saying, “why the lie?”
In response to another post on X about the contract being updated, Musk said: “I’m pretty sure Tesla isn’t getting $400M. No one mentioned it to me, at least.”
The Biden administration had asked the State Department to explore interests by private companies to make armored EVs, leading to a public Request for Information to find interested EV-makers, a department spokesperson said, adding that only one company responded at the time.
An official solicitation for EV manufacturers to bid on making armored EVs is on hold with no current plans to use it, the spokesperson said, adding that the government has not awarded any contracts.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The procurement document lists other armored vehicles, including a BMW (BMWYY0.00%) X5 or X7. According to the State Department website, the document was last revised on Dec. 23 — about a month before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.
Musk leads a task force created by the Trump administration to cut down on government spending. During a conversation with Trump in August, Musk had raised the idea for an agency focused on “government efficiency,” that eventually became the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
“I think it would be great to just have a government efficiency commission that takes a look at these things and, and just ensures that the taxpayer money to the taxpayers, hard earned money is spent in a good way,” Musk told Trump during a Spaces event on X. “And I’d be happy to help out on such a commission.”
In the first weeks of Trump’s second term, DOGE has already cut hundreds of U.S. programs focused on aid and foreign assistance, including USAID.