State Department halts plan to buy $400M worth of armored vehicles from Musk's Tesla

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State Department halts plan to buy $400M worth of armored vehicles from Musk's Tesla

2025-02-14 10:12 Last Updated At：10:21

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk's Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase.

A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk, who has become President Donald Trump's billionaire adviser aiming to dismantle agencies and downsize the federal workforce, was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024, when Joe Biden was president.

While it was in its planning phases, the deal with Tesla was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers before the plans were put on hold. His companies obtain hundreds of millions of dollars each year in contracts. SpaceX has secured nearly $20 billion in federal funds since 2008 to ferry astronauts and satellites into space. And Tesla had already received $41.9 million from the U.S. government, including payment for vehicles provided to some U.S. embassies.

No government contract had been given to Tesla or any other manufacturer to produce armored electric vehicles for the Department of State, the agency said.

The Biden administration had tasked the State Department to gather information from potential suppliers to buy these vehicles in September. An official request for bids was to be released in May, according to State Department data from December. But that solicitation is now on hold with no plans to issue it, the State Department said.

After reports emerged about the plans to buy from Tesla, the State Department changed the data entry on its expected contracts forecast for fiscal year 2025 late Wednesday. The State Department said it should have been entered into the system as a generic “electric vehicle manufacturer," but there is at least another entry for a different purchase that continues to list a company— German car manufacturer BMW.

Antetokounmpo and most other top Bucks resting for regular-season finale with Pistons

2025-04-14 00:17 Last Updated At：00:22

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo and most of the Milwaukee Bucks’ other top players will sit out Sunday afternoon’s regular-season finale with Detroit as both teams already are locked into their respective playoff positions.

The Bucks are seeded fifth and the Pistons sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bucks will face Indiana in a rematch of a 2024 first-round series the Pacers won 4-2, while Detroit takes on the New York Knicks in the Pistons’ first playoff appearance since 2019.

Milwaukee clinched the No. 5 seed after winning 125-119 at Detroit on Friday.

Antetokounmpo was ruled out for Sunday’s game with tendinopathy in his left shoulder. Other Bucks ruled out for Sunday’s game after being available Friday include Brook Lopez (rest), Kevin Porter Jr. (right wrist sprain), Bobby Portis (rest), Taurean Prince (right knee patella tendinopathy), Gary Trent Jr. (right knee bruise) and Ryan Rollins (left shoulder).

Antetokounmpo finishes the regular season with 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. He joins Wilt Chamberlain (1959-66) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970-73) as the only players ever to average at least 30 points and 10 rebounds per game in at least three consecutive seasons.

Pistons ruled out for Sunday’s game include Isaiah Stewart (right knee inflammation) and Ausar Thompson (patellar tendinopathy in left knee). Stewart also didn't appear in Friday's game, though he did play Thursday in a 115-106 victory over the Knicks.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba