The Trump administration is expected to purchase $400 million worth of armored Tesla vehicles, according to a new State Department document detailing procurement for fiscal year 2025. 
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is a top White House official 
who has been leading the Department of Government Efficiency 
, a unit focused on shrinking the federal workforce and ferreting out corruption ( 
) .
The document does not specify what Tesla vehicles will be purchased by U.S. officials (Interjection: No matter how much you hate journaloids, it isn't enough.) , but Musk's Cybertruck, with its militaristic design and stainless steel exterior, could be an option. 
After reports circulated Wednesday night of the State Department's intent to purchase Tesla vehicles, the document was edited, at 9:12 p.m., and now says the federal contract is for $400 million worth of "armored electric vehicles," 
but the word "Tesla" was removed. 
Responding to a segment by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow about the $400 million contract, Musk wrote on X on Wednesday night: "Hey @Maddow, why the lie?" 
The State Department and Musk did not return requests for comment.
Musk, who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help elect Trump 
, has used an X account devoted to DOGE to highlight what he views as excessive or unnecessary federal contracts. 
(HailVictory be seething)
As Musk's deputies have gained access to nearly two dozen federal agencies, ethics experts have raised concern about the billionaire running into conflicts of interest, since Musk runs six companies, some of which are under investigation by government authorities. Musk's companies, including Tesla and SpaceX 
, also have multibillion-dollar contracts with the federal government 
.
Most of the federal money Musk has received has gone to SpaceX, the rocket company, for projects including work for NASA to launch Musk's Starship with astronauts to the moon. 
A new Cybertruck starts at around $82,000, and about 38,000 were sold last year, according to Cox Automotive. Since the vehicle's launch in 2019, the truck has faced complaints about rust, finger pinches and defective accelerator pedals. 
The State Department document also shows that some Tesla competitors are set to receive lucrative, yet considerably smaller, contracts for armored vehicles, including from BMW, which is expected to supply about $40 million worth of SUVs to the federal government.
.webp?h=10 "Nuzzles, pounces on you, UwU, you're so warm!..")
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Trusting two people who scam their fans. To not scam the US too.
Only reason tesla is relevant is because stock price go up. The cars are dogshit.
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I'm almost certain your car can't go faster than a Tesla.
Cope harder
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Sure but my car doesn't immediately lose 50% of it's value driving off the lot and I can repair it without going bankrupt.
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I drive a 2004 GMC Savana 2500
I bet it could beat your car
EDIT: malc MUTED me! Work Van Chuds can't stop winning
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Nooo. You're supposed to just be heavily invested in the companies you give multi-billion dollar contracts to. This is the end of political norms and decorum. Nooo.
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Of all the things to be, why do you choose naive?
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Tesla has been getting government contracts for a decade and is a wildly successful company in multiple industries. It's not automatically cronyism that they are getting a new contract under Trump, though, obviously, it can appear that way. The difference between $400 million funding on trans Sesame Street characters in Botswana and $400 million on bulletproof vehicles is that there is an actual need for the latter. If there is clearly a better company than Tesla to provide those for the same price or less, then I would agree it's cronyism.
Edit: Apparently, this whole project began under Biden and Tesla was the only company interested in making bulletproof EVs. Lol
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Is this what draining the swamp looks like?
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The swamps need to be drained before the US military can go near them with electric vehicles
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Snapshots:
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/13/g-s1-48571/trump-administration-order-400-million-worth-of-armored-teslas:
ghostarchive.org
archive.org
archive.ph (click to archive)
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