Updates to reflect removal of Tesla item from procurement forecast.
Investing.com-- The U.S. State Department’s procurement forecast for the 2025 budget has now removed an allocation for "Armored Teslas" worth $400 million, government data showed on Wednesday.
The procurement forecast- released on the Department of State website- is a prediction of the department’s future plans for goods and services. The item was added in December 2024, when President Joe Biden was still in office, and sparked some speculation over whether Tesla would win a government contract.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) currently makes no armored vehicles per se, although CEO Elon Musk has touted the Cybertruck as being able withstand some gunfire. The Cybertruck was spotted as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s motorcade in Texas.
The procurement forecast still showed listings for armored BMW (ETR:BMWG) x5s and x7 vehicles, as well as for armored electric vehicles and sedans from unknown manufacturers. But the listings were substantially smaller than the $400 million that was initially listed for Tesla.
Speculation over the procurement forecast comes as CEO Musk enjoys increased influence within the White House.
Musk was appointed by Trump to lead a government task force aimed at curbing state spending, with Musk claiming to have cut at least $1 billion in government costs a day. A bulk of these cuts were aimed at the USAID agency.
Analysts also expect Musk’s influence to help fast-track regulatory approvals for autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence.