The US is preparing to buy $400m (£321m) of “armoured Teslas” even as Elon Musk seeks to cut government spending by billions of dollars.
A procurement notice posted on the US State Department’s website, published on Dec 13, revealed the planned purchase, which was first reported by Drop Site News. Shortly after the story broke, the department replaced the document. It now describes a plan to buy “armoured electric vehicles” instead.
While the notice doesn’t outline which models are being looked at, Mr Musk’s Tesla develops the four-ton Cybertruck, which has bulletproof side panels and has been hailed by the billionaire for its durability.
The proposal to hand hundreds of millions of dollars to one of Mr Musk’s companies will fuel conflict-of-interest concerns. The world’s richest man has been given a position at the heart of the US government, overseeing the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
The billionaire has been handed sweeping powers to cut federal spending by Donald Trump, the US president. Mr Musk has placed junior staff members from his companies across US departments with a view to axing diversity deals and blocking aid. Some of his hires have been granted granular access to federal payroll data and payment systems.
Mr Musk has claimed that Doge is cutting around $1bn in US government spending every day.
Democrats have raised concerns about Mr Musk’s influence and potential conflicts of interest. Mr Musk’s SpaceX, his rocket company, has $22bn of US government contracts alone.
Adam Schiff, the Democratic senator for California, claimed in a letter to the White House’s chief of staff that Mr Musk “may seek to use his new position to shield his companies from federal scrutiny”.
“Mr Musk’s compliance with federal conflicts of interest and other related obligations remains unknown to Congress and the public,” the letter added.
Earlier this month, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said: “If Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that Doge is overseeing, then Elon will excuse himself from those contracts.”
At an Oval Office press conference on Monday, Mr Musk hit back at claims he had launched a “hostile takeover” of the US government, insisting the cost-cutting he was delivering was based on “common sense”.
Standing alongside Mr Trump, he told reporters: “The people voted for major government reform. There should be no doubt about that. That’s what the people are going to get.”
Elon Musk, government contracts
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