Cybertrucks for the State Department? Hell no! Can you say "corruption"? Heck yeah!

I remember when I first saw pictures of Musk's cybertruck: Yuck!! That is one ug ug ug ugly piece of pseudo-futuristic machinery. But who knows? Maybe it's also good. But then I saw these YouTube videos complaining about poor fit and construction. We've got significant safety concerns and by the end of 2024 this super-truck of the future had been recalled seven times.

What's a savvy businessman to do when faced with a rolling dumpster fire like this? That's right, sell them to the government. And Elon Musk was in a position to do just that as he'd donated $250 million to Trump's campaign. So arrangements were made to sell them to the State Department.

Fortunately, someone blew the whistle on that one and the order's been put on hold, at least for now. Jack Ewing reports in The New York Times, State Dept. Suspends Plan to Buy Armored Teslas:

The State Department said Thursday that it had put plans to buy armored electric vehicles on hold after reports that the $400 million order would go to Tesla, whose chief executive, Elon Musk, is one of President Trump’s most important advisers and supporters.

The agency pushed back against suggestions that the purchase was designed to benefit Mr. Musk, saying in a statement that the plans stemmed from a request by the Biden administration “to explore interest from private companies to produce armored electric vehicles.”

“The solicitation is on hold, and there are no current plans to issue it,” the State Department said.

The planned purchase was listed in the department’s procurement forecast for 2025, which is intended to give businesses a chance to compete for projects. The document was published in December, after Mr. Trump won the election but before he took office.

Tesla’s name was removed from the document after the existence of the list was reported late Wednesday. Plans to order Tesla vehicles had provoked controversy because of Mr. Musk’s close association with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Musk spent more than $250 million to help elect Mr. Trump, who then appointed him as the leader of a cost-cutting initiative that has been called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Is DOGE just a dodge for Musk to line his own pockets at taxpayer expense? Enquiring minds want to know.

There's more at the link.