Tesla Cybertruck’s sales of fewer than 40,000 units in 2024 were far below the company’s production capacity and analyst sales projections. But the Tesla electric vehicle — which, with its stainless steel exterior, resembles a large kitchen appliance on wheels — could get a big boost from good old Uncle Sam.
The U.S. State Department may purchase upward of $400 million in armored Teslas, according to a 2025 fiscal year procurement forecast published in December. The news was first reported by Drop Site News yesterday.
Curiously, just hours after the Drop Site story was published, the State Department document was replaced with another file that removes Tesla’s name, as first noted by Bloomberg.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) surged by nearly 7% in Thursday’s morning trading session, continuing its rally from yesterday after a staggering 30% decline since mid-December.
The Tesla brand is increasingly being rejected by consumers due to the politics of CEO Elon Musk.
Musk’s Non-Denial of the Tesla Cybertruck Purchase
In response to the reports, Musk tweeted earlier today that he is “pretty sure Tesla isn’t getting $400M.”
Notably, that’s not a denial of the report’s substance — Musk did not rule out a potential State Department purchase of Tesla vehicles altogether.
The world’s richest man has also struggled with telling the truth, most recently manufacturing falsehoods about U.S. aid to the battered people of Gaza.
Flagging Cybertruck Gets a Re-Charge
The procurement forecast does not specify which Tesla vehicle is under consideration, but industry observers identify the Cybertruck as the most likely candidate, given its space-grade exoskeleton.
Should the U.S. government move forward with the purchase, some of the $400 million would go toward the contractor that would be outfitting the vehicle with armored technology. Armored vehicles typically have a markup of 50% or more.
Even if around $200 million went directly to Tesla, that could represent just over 5% of Cybertruck sales in 2024, which ended the year on a downward trajectory.
In response, Tesla is now offering the Cybertruck for lease at $749 per month — with a $7,500 downpayment.
Musk now serves as the government’s anti-waste czar through the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency. However, his companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, have secured well over $10 billion in government contracts and subsidies in recent years.
In Q4 2024 alone, Tesla earned $692 million from selling environmental regulatory emissions credits to gasoline-powered automakers, representing roughly 30% of its profit for the entire quarter.
Cybertruck Failed to Meet Expectations
The Cybertruck launched with great expectations. In 2019, Musk claimed that there were 250,000 preorders for the vehicle. The estimated actual sales of 40,000 units represents less than 20% of the claimed preorder number. The price of the vehicle has a lot to do with that.
The Cybertruck was originally billed as starting at under $40,000. The vehicle actually starts at just under $80,000 without Full-Self Driving. The fully loaded Cyberbeast trim brings the price up to over $115,000.
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