Rumors are swirling that the feds are buying $400 million dollars worth of Tesla Cybertrucks. Is this true? Yes, some state officials will be driving around is special armored versions of the stainless steel pickup. The U.S. State Department has budgeted for new “Armored Electric Vehicles” over the next 5 years. When the budget was first drafted under the Biden Administration in December of last year, it included specifically “Armored Teslas” as one of its line items. Also included were armored sedans and armored BMW X5 and X7s. But the State Department has now changed all of those to the more generic “Armored Electric Vehicles.” However, we’re unsure if it also changed how those expenses will be recorded because the vehicles were strangely listed under categories like “Miscellaneous Food Manufacturing.”

The US State Department’s procurement forecast for the 2025 budget includes an item called “Armored Teslas” worth $400 million. To add confusion to the issue, the State Department, under the Biden administration, said it sought to buy $400 million in Tesla trucks in a December 2024 procurement list. It has since stated it would not pursue the order.

Social media users are claiming that the rumors are true. One user wrote, “The United States State Department is now planning to spend $400 million in taxpayer money to buy Tesla Cybertrucks.”

This claim is misleading. It is true that the State Department said in a December 2024 procurement list that it would try to acquire $400 million in Tesla trucks, according to The New York Times. It was later updated on Feb. 12 to remove the Tesla trucks, and instead, the order is “on ice,”

Tesla owner Elon Musk said on X that he was unaware of any such order. “I’m pretty sure Tesla isn’t getting $400M. No one mentioned it to me, at least,” Musk tweeted. Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are currently examining a large amount of US government spending.

It’s unclear if he got to the US State Department’s procurement forecast because there are a few interesting lines that would give auditors second thoughts. The program has a target for delivery in Q4 through the next 5 years.

The State Department procurement forecast website mentions that the list was last updated in December – before Trump entered office.

The bigger question is why does the State Department need $400 million worth of armored vehicles? And why is it listed under a bunch of unrelated categories that aren’t related? Either way, it’s a conflict of interest for Elon Musk to accept this order, but my guess is that much of this government purchase will be cancelled. 

This certainly could be a total scam, however, we do need more information. The state department buys all type of armored trucks and gas vehicles annually. We will be watching if something comes of this story.

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