By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal on Monday asked U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to answer questions about a reported plan to spend $400 million to purchase armored versions of Tesla Cybertrucks to transport diplomats.
Blumenthal said the State Department has publicly stated the contract was planned during the Biden administration and the Trump administration canceled it. But the senator, who is the top Democrat on a Senate investigations subcommittee, said that account has been questioned.
“The question has been raised whether, after significant public blowback, the Trump Administration created and backdated government documents to make it appear that the idea to spend $400 million in taxpayer money on Tesla Cybertrucks originated with the previous administration,” Blumenthal wrote.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a close adviser to Trump and help lead an effort to drastically shrink the federal government and cut numerous government contracts.
Tesla and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Blumenthal said if the State Department sought to backdate a document it would raise serious questions.
“If that occurred, the Trump administration not only recognizes the tremendous conflicts of interest inherent in Mr. Musk’s dual roles, but is also taking active steps to hide the fact that it is ensuring that Mr. Musk’s position is benefiting his companies,” Blumenthal wrote.
Other questions have been raised about other potential conflicts of interest for Musk, including at the Federal Aviation Administration over a $2.4 billion telecommunications contract with Verizon and the potential that the contract could be given to Musk’s Starlink satellite telecommunications company, which is part of SpaceX.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Chizu Nomiyama)
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