US senator asks Rubio to answer questions on planned Tesla Cybertruck purchase

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal connected Monday asked U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reply questions astir a reported program to walk $400 cardinal to acquisition armored versions of Tesla Cybertrucks to transport diplomats.

The State Department said Monday the declaration was planned during the Biden medication and the Trump medication canceled it. But the senator, who is the apical Democrat connected a Senate investigations subcommittee, said that relationship has been questioned.

"The question has been raised whether, aft important nationalist blowback, the Trump Administration created and backdated authorities documents to marque it look that the thought to walk $400 cardinal successful payer wealth connected Tesla Cybertrucks originated with the erstwhile administration," Blumenthal wrote.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is simply a adjacent advisor to Trump and assistance pb an effort to drastically shrink the national authorities and chopped galore authorities contracts.

Tesla did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

The State Department told Reuters Monday nether President Joe Biden it was asked "to research involvement from backstage companies to nutrient armored electrical vehicles" and said successful effect to a petition for accusation successful May 2024 lone Tesla expressed interest.

"As a adjacent measurement successful that process, an authoritative solicitation would beryllium sent retired to conveyance manufacturers to bid. However, the solicitation is connected clasp and determination are nary existent plans to contented it," the section said, declining to reply questions raised by Blumenthal.

Blumenthal said if the State Department sought to backdate a papers it would rise superior questions.

"If that occurred, the Trump medication not lone recognizes the tremendous conflicts of involvement inherent successful Mr. Musk’s dual roles, but is besides taking progressive steps to fell the information that it is ensuring that Mr. Musk’s presumption is benefiting his companies," Blumenthal wrote.

Other questions person been raised astir different imaginable conflicts of involvement for Musk, including astatine the Federal Aviation Administration implicit a $2.4 cardinal telecommunications declaration with Verizon and the imaginable that the declaration could beryllium fixed to Musk's Starlink outer telecommunications company, which is portion of SpaceX.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese, Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)