06-03-2025
Baltimore paused Tesla purchases in September
In mid-September, Baltimore City paused a $5 million electric vehicle contract with Tesla, city officials said.
The pause came at the direction of the mayor's office, just a few months after the city's Board of Estimates voted to approve the deal in June, said John Riggin, spokesman for the city's Department of General Services.
The city 'decided to go in a different direction,' Riggin said.
'No Tesla units have been ordered, and none are in the City's fleet,' wrote John Riggin, spokesman for the city's Department of General Services.
In September — the same month that Baltimore's Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott paused the contract — President Donald Trump announced that, if he were to be reelected, he would appoint his supporter, Tesla founder Elon Musk, to lead a 'government efficiency commission' to quickly eliminate 'fraud and improper payments.'
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has since spearheaded a slash-and-burn approach at the federal level, terminating thousands of probationary employees, nixing government contracts and promising additional cuts.
Musk has drawn ire from Democrats along the way, but its unclear whether his political activities prompted Baltimore's reversal.
Under Baltimore's contract, which runs until June 2027, the city is not obligated to spend $5 million for the vehicles from Tesla.
'The contract value sets a spending ceiling, not a commitment to spend the full amount or any portion of it,' Riggin said.
Instead, the city department has purchased electric vehicles from Ford and General Motors, Riggin said, and continues to 'evaluate offerings from a variety of manufacturers.'
The contract with Tesla hasn't been formally canceled, wrote city Comptroller Bill Henry in a statement. But the city is relying on previous contracts for electric vehicles, Henry said, and purchasing 'mostly Ford Mach-Es.'
Karyl Leggio, professor of finance at Loyola University's Sellinger School of Business in Baltimore, said it's likely that Musk's political actions will have an impact on Tesla's economic outlook.
'You can't think of too many CEOs that are political, and there's a good reason, because politics are divisive. Half the country goes one way, half the country goes the other,' Leggio said.
Musk's recent actions with DOGE have been particularly polarizing, spurring buyer's remorse for some Tesla drivers. Bumper stickers with slogans like 'I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy,' now appear on some Teslas.
Some Musk opponents have also staged demonstrations at Tesla stores, including one in Owings Mils. County police investigated anti-Musk graffiti found on the store after the protest concluded.
'I've seen a lot of protests, and protests lead to cancellations,' Leggio said.
Since reaching a peak in mid-December, Tesla's stock has plunged more than 40%.
'I would be a little skeptical about putting too much weight on that, but it's an early indicator that there should be some concern about the sales of the product,' Leggio said.
Baltimore's contract with Tesla came in the wake of city policies encouraging electric vehicle use.
In 2023, Scott signed a bill into law requiring all vehicle purchases for the city's administrative fleet to be zero-emission by 2030. Scott has also set a citywide goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.
'My administration knows the critical importance of ensuring our city is able to confront the climate crisis head-on and do everything in our power to ensure Baltimore is leading the way in sustainability and climate resilience,' Scott said at the time.
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