State Department removes mention of 'armored Teslas' from its 2025 procurement list, replaces it with 'armored electric vehicles'

• The State Department said it was planning to buy $400 million worth of armored Teslas this year.
• It now says it will be buying "Armored Electric Vehicles" instead of specifically Teslas.
• Musk's companies have received billions of dollars from government contracts and subsidies.

The State Department has scrubbed mention of armored Teslas from its 2025 procurement forecast.

The procurement document initially contained a line item that read: "Armored Tesla (Production Units)" — a reference to products from Elon Musk's electric vehicle company, Tesla. It was listed as a five-year contract and valued at $400 million, making it the biggest item on the list.

The document on the State Department's website has since been revised. The same line item now reads "Armored Electric Vehicles." It's still listed as a five-year contract worth $400 million.

The latest version of the document doesn't mention Tesla.

"I'm pretty sure Tesla isn't getting $400M. No one mentioned it to me, at least," Musk wrote on X on Thursday about the department's revised forecast.

The initial document had a time stamp of December 13, 2024. The revised document bears a time stamp of February 12, 2025, at 9:12 p.m.

The State Department, the White House, and the State Department's point of contact for procurement didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the change.

Procurement list details

The earlier version of the forecast was made under the Biden administration and had last been revised on December 23, weeks before President Donald Trump took office on January 20.

It didn't specify which Tesla vehicle model it was commissioning.

Tesla produces several EVs, including its Model 3 and Model S sedans and Model Y and Model X SUVs. The company also produces the Cybertruck, a stainless steel pickup truck that Musk has said is bulletproof.

Both the original and newly revised documents list an anticipated award date of September 30 for the contract. Both versions of the forecast also include orders from other automakers, including a $40 million contract for armored BMW SUVs, the X5 and X7.

Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment.

Musk's companies have received billions from government contracts

Musk's companies have done several deals with the government. His companies have received billions of dollars from government contracts and subsidies.

Gwynne Shotwell, the president and chief operating officer of Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, said in November that the company had $22 billion in government contracts.

Musk is now the public face of Trump's cost-cutting efforts within the government, serving as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency.

The White House has said Musk is a "special government employee" and isn't compensated for his services. The classification allows Musk to maintain his sprawling business interests, which include companies such as Tesla and SpaceX.

On Tuesday, Musk joined Trump at a press conference in the Oval Office, where he was asked about the conflicts of interest he could face from running DOGE and his companies simultaneously.

"No, because you have to look at the individual contract. First of all, I'm not the one filing the contract. It's people at SpaceX or something will be putting for the contract," Musk said.

"And I'd like to say if you see any contract where it was awarded to SpaceX and it wasn't by far the best value for money for the taxpayer, let me know, because every one of them was," he added.

Trump said at a press conference on February 3 that Musk wouldn't be allowed to deal with government matters where there could be a conflict of interest.

"If there's a conflict, then we won't let him get near it," Trump said.

February 13, 2025: This story has been updated to reflect a change the State Department made in its 2025 procurement forecast after the story was published. The procurement forecast now lists $400 million of "Armored Electric Vehicles," not $400 million of "Armored Tesla (Production Units)."