Cybertanks? Musk's desperate measure to keep Tesla alive
Sales of the Tesla Cybertruck have been much slower than expected, but the Trump Administration could lend Elon Musk a hand.
Elon Musk admitted in 2023 that Tesla had “dug their own grave” with the Cybertruck, with sales of the battery electric pickup truck considerably slower than expected. However, US president Donald Trump now looks set to pull his mutually beneficial friend back up to ground level.
Tesla sold approximately 39,000 units of the Cybertruck last year, far short of the 125,000 annual target. However, they could now go some way to making up for it thanks to the Trump Administration.
Musk’s ties to the Trump Administration
Since January, Musk has, of course, been part of that administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), advising Trump on how to cut public spending.
Additionally, companies Musk owns or controls have secured $13 billion in nearly 100 contracts with 17 federal agencies over the past five years.
How many Cybertrucks will the US government buy and for how much?
What better way to cut public spending than by paying $400 million for armored Tesla vehicles?
“Armored Electric Vehicles” are on the State Department’s procurement forecast for 2025, with the word ‘Tesla’ removed to avoid a conflict of interest since Musk’s DOGE appointment at the beginning of 2025.
The forecast doesn’t explicitly state the Cybertruck, which Musk has always marketed as an armored vehicle, is the vehicle of choice, although that is certainly believed to the case.
That $400 million figure, along with the Cybertruck’s base model price of around $80,000, means the government could purchase in the region of 5,000 units, with the sale expected to be finalised in the final quarter of 2025.
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