The U.S. State Department announced that it will no longer award $400 million for electric vehicles from Tesla, whose CEO, Elon Musk, is close to President Donald Trump.
U.S. authorities were planning to acquire armored vehicles from Tesla to be used by American embassies over the next five years, at a cost of $400 million.
However, after several media outlets mentioned this contract with Tesla, the document available online was modified to refer only to “armored electric vehicles,” without specifying the manufacturer’s name.
The State Department then stated that Tesla’s name had been added incorrectly, as the company was the only one to respond to a request for expressions of interest prior to the publication of a tender.
“No government contract has been awarded to Tesla or any other automaker to produce armored electric vehicles for the State Department”, a department spokesperson declared.
Elon Musk also denied the contract through social media. “I am almost certain that Tesla will not receive $400 million. No one has told me anything, at least”.
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