The Foreign Ministry says that Tesla has not been granted a $ 400 million contract to produce “armored” cars
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday that the US government did not grant Tesla a contract to produce “armored” electric cars.
The spokesperson MSNBC told the Biden administration that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked “to explore attention from companies in producing electric cars.” In response to this request last year, the agency submitted a request for “interest contact” information.
A spokesman for the “next step in this process,” said the administration received an interest from only one company at that time, and “a next step in that process”, it was possible to send an official request to vehicle manufacturers to provide bids. The spokesman added, “The seam is suspended and there are no current plans to issue,” the spokesman added.
The spokesperson explained the issue a day after independent publication Disclosure site news The budget document has been reported, putting a wave of speculation and scrutiny about Musk’s tangle with a government in which he currently works as one of the advisers of President Donald Trump.
The budget document mentioned in many news reports was the purchase forecast for 2025 – a list of potential purchases. The introduction of the spreadsheet, called “Armored Production Units (Production Units)” and the last time on December 13, before Trump took over, indicated that the potential purchase is still in the “planning” stage. The car model was not specified from Tesla, which does not make a “armored” car.
After that, hours after publishing the articles, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seemed to remove the word “Tesla” from the spreadsheet and download a revised version to Agency websiteAlthough a copy of the list, including Tesla was Still online On another web page for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, starting on Thursday afternoon.
Musk, CEO of Tesla, threw cold water on this case. “I am sure that Tesla does not get $ 400 million. No one mentioned it, at least,” Books on x At 1:30 am East time Thursday.
Tesla did not immediately respond to emails seeking to comment on Thursday.
News reports attracted partial attention due to the strength and impact of Musk in the Trump administration. He heads the Ministry of Government efficiency, a comprehensive effort to significantly reduce government spending and reduce the federal workforce. The federal government was accused of corruption on a large scale and waste spending.
Musk is also one of the most important contractors in the federal government. In recent years, Musk’s Spacex has given billions of dollars in contracts. The Silicon Valley Pole faced increasing questions about the conflict of potential interests, given its simultaneous role in the Trump administration and its extensive property.
The budget budget has included potential allocations for other auto manufacturers, but a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the contracts were not granted to Tesla or any manufacturer of another vehicle to produce armored electric cars for the Ministry of State.