What we know about claims State Department was set to buy $400M in 'armored Teslas'
In mid-February 2025, a rumor spread online that the U.S. Department of State planned to spend $400 million on "armored Teslas," a contract that Elon Musk, the car company's CEO and head of U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, would benefit from.
Social media users on X and Facebook said Musk was "on track" to win a $400 million State Department contract for armored Teslas in 2025, with one person describing it as "the kind of waste and abuse we wanted to stop."
Some Snopes readers asked us whether the State Department had already awarded Tesla a contract, while others asked whether the department's purported contract was for Tesla Cybertrucks, a electric truck with a divisive design.
It is true that the State Department published a plan for fiscal year 2025, which runs from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025, that included a potential procurement of $400 million worth of "Armored Tesla" vehicles.
The top section shows the initial plan to procure units of "Armored Tesla," the middle section shows the original NAICS code, the bottom left section shows the Department of State was planning the procurement and the bottom right section shows the planned cost of the procurement — $400 million (U.S. Department of State)
However, as of this writing, the spreadsheet referenced above (found by clicking on "**NEW** Department of State Procurement Forecast Year 2025" at this link) no longer contains a reference to any armored Teslas. When it did contain a reference to armored Teslas, the document's title said it was "revised" in December 2024, a month after Trump won the election and as former President Joe Biden's term was coming to an end.
(The State Department releases an annual procurement forecast for potential contract opportunities that "small and small disadvantaged firms" may be able to perform under a federal law — the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988 — which is meant to give small businesses a better shot at government contracts.)
Speaking via email, a State Department official denied the agency had awarded a contract "to Tesla or any other vehicle manufacturer to produce armored electric vehicles," nor does Trump's administration plan on awarding such a contract. Musk said on X that he was "pretty sure" Tesla did not have a $400 million contract with the government, and if the company did, "no one mentioned it" to him. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment as of this writing.
It is unclear whether an "armored Tesla" refers to a Cybertruck, and the plan did not specify which Tesla model would be procured. As noted by The New York Times, however, "the electric Cybertruck, which has a body of high-strength stainless steel, would be the most suitable vehicle." Musk has called the Cybertruck "bulletproof" and "the finest in apocalypse technology." Tesla often attempts to demonstrate the Cybertruck's durability, including by shooting bullets at it and throwing a metal ball at it — although that demonstration resulted in shattered glass.
Outlined below is what's known about the State Department's procurement plan for armored electric vehicles.
On Feb. 12, 2025, DropSiteNews first reported that the State Department's procurement forecast for fiscal year 2025 "lists Tesla as the recipient of the largest expected contract, with [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio's department planning to buy $400,000,000 worth of 'Armored Tesla.'" DropSiteNews is an independent news site founded by former reporters at The Intercept, a left-leaning media publication.
Following the publication of the DropSiteNews story and reports from NPR, The New York Times and other mainstream media outlets, the department replaced the mention of "armored Tesla" vehicles with "armored electric vehicles" in its procurement forecast and later removed any mention of the $400 million contract entirely. The earlier version of the document — which was publicly available before the agency updated its website — has been published by Time magazine and can be seen here, which aligned with a copy provided by DropSiteNews reporter Ryan Grim.
As Time noted, the version of the document mentioning "armored Tesla" vehicles listed the planned procurement under NAICS Code 311999 (as seen in the screenshot above), an industry code for miscellaneous food manufacturing. When the document was updated to read "armored electric vehicles," the code was changed to NAICS Code 561613 for "Armored Car Services" before the procurement in question was removed entirely.
Multiple reputable news sites, including NPR and Time, said the document was updated at 9:12 p.m. on Feb. 12; however, it was not possible to independently verify this. The State Department official confirmed that the document did at one point refer to Teslas, but "it should have been entered into the system as a generic entry 'electric vehicle manufacturer.'"
The State Department official said via email that the Biden administration "asked the Department of State to explore interest from private companies to produce armored electric vehicles." In response, the department released a public request for information on armored electric vehicles "to solicit interest" and "received interest from only one company at that time": Tesla, which responded on May 31, 2024.
The official said the next step in this process would be "an official solicitation," where vehicle manufacturers would bid for a contract. However, Trump's administration put the solicitation on hold and "there are no current plans to issue it."
The Biden administration's public request for information, released in April 2024, is available here. The government's description of the request is below (emphasis theirs):
The U.S. Department of State Division of Defensive Equipment and Armored Vehicles (DEAV) is seeking information related to requirements for the armoring of existing commercially available electric vehicles (EVs), the procurement of armored electric vehicles produced by the original equipment manufacturer, and U.S. companies capable of supplying armored electric vehicles.
THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This RFI/SS is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Furthermore, the Government is not seeking proposals.
According to the request for information documents, the DEAV had, as of 2024, a fleet of more than 3,000 armored vehicles. It released this request for information in response to a Biden executive order that established sustainability goals for the federal government, including "acquiring Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) for all medium and heavy-duty vehicle acquisitions by 2035."
"While the order applies to an agency's activities located within the United States, the head of an agency may apply the order, to the extent practicable, to the activities located outside the United States," the agency's request for information said. Trump has revoked Biden's executive order.
"About - Drop Site News." Dropsitenews.com, www.dropsitenews.com/about. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Allyn, Bobby. "Trump Administration Set to Purchase $400 Million Worth of Armored Teslas." NPR, 13 Feb. 2025, www.npr.org/2025/02/13/g-s1-48571/trump-administration-order-400-million-worth-of-armored-teslas. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
Ewing, Jack. "State Dept. Plans $400 Million Purchase of Armored Tesla Cybertrucks." Archive.ph, The New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025, archive.ph/R8TOI. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
"FedCenter - EO 14057." Www.fedcenter.gov, www.fedcenter.gov/programs/eo14057/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
"FY25-Procurement-Forecast." State.gov, Dec. 2024, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/FY25-Procurement-Forecast.xlsx. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Grim, Ryan. "'Armored Tesla' Forecast to Win $400 Million State Department Contract after Trump's Election, Government Document Shows." Archive.ph, Drop Site News, 12 Feb. 2025, archive.ph/eYZ3P. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Grim, Ryan, and Jack Poulson. "UPDATED: 'Armored Tesla' (Was) Forecast to Win $400 Million State Department Contract after Trump's Election." Dropsitenews.com, Drop Site News, 13 Feb. 2025, www.dropsitenews.com/p/elon-musk-armored-tesla-forecast-400-million-state-department-contracts. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Guzman, Chad de. "State Department Removes Tesla's Name from Planned $400M Contract amid Musk Scrutiny." TIME, Time, 13 Feb. 2025, time.com/7221880/state-department-2025-procurement-forecast-tesla-armored-electric-vehicles-musk/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
"Procurement Forecast - United States Department of State." United States Department of State, 13 Feb. 2025, www.state.gov/procurement-forecast. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
"Procurement Forecast - United States Department of State." Archive.ph, 12 Feb. 2025, archive.ph/Thfcm. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
"SAM.gov." Sam.gov, sam.gov/opp/bb1ac5870df5485ab090216dc8fe0511/view. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
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