Congressional Democrats Question Cancelled $400M Tesla Purchase Plan
TL/DR –
Congressional Democrats have questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio over an aborted plan to buy $400m of electric armored vehicles from Tesla. U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York and Jared Moskowitz of Florida said the scheme represented a serious violation of procurement law and would have unfairly enriched billionaire businessman Elon Musk. Critics said it appeared Musk would have used his position in the White House to boost his business empire.
Tesla Armored EV Purchase Scrutinized by Democrats
Top Democrats have questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the cancelled attempt to purchase $400 million worth of Tesla’s armored electric vehicles. U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York and Jared Moskowitz of Florida expressed concerns in a letter, indicating the move as “a serious violation of federal procurement laws”.
Their claims reference NPR’s recent reporting on plans to acquire $400 million of Teslas, raising issues of potential unlawful enrichment of Elon Musk. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal had earlier written Rubio a similar letter.
The proposed State Department purchase of armored Teslas, likely the Cybertruck model, sparked fear that Musk could leverage his White House position for self-dealing. However, a State Department spokesperson told NPR there are now no plans to proceed with the purchase, moving the $400 million figure to “an estimate”.
The Biden administration had planned a smaller $483,000 expenditure on EV acquisition in 2025, less than 1% of the estimated $400 million, noted in a spreadsheet of expected State Department contracts. After reports first circulated on the spreadsheet item, it was edited to say the award was for “armored electric vehicles,” not “armored Tesla”.
The lawmakers are now asking for proof that the contract has been “definitively abandoned” and question whether the Department intentionally increased the purchase amount from $483,000 to $400 million. The origin of the $400 million plan is unclear, and the State Department and Musk have yet to comment.
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