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Trump / Musk (other than DOGE)

  • Thread starter Thread starter nycfan
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Trump says a lot of stuff, though, and tariffs are the one soft spot for his otherwise cultish support for any crazy thing he says in this administration. On tariffs, they keep finding ways to slow walk his wishes.
 
nycfan said:
About that $400 million Tesla order …

Click to expand...

“… It appeared as if the State Department was taking steps to award Elon Musk's Tesla a $400 million government contract to buy armored electric vehicles to securely transport diplomats. The move to set in motion a lucrative contract to a company controlled by a high-profile ally of President Trump's seemed so bold it surprised even longtime observers of the norm-busting president.

When asked about it, the State Department issued a statement saying the purchase is now on hold with no plans of fulfilling the contract, pointing out that talks with Tesla began during the Biden administration.

But NPR has obtained a State Department document detailing that Biden's State Department planned to spend just $483,000 in the 2025 fiscal year on buying electric vehicles and $3 million for supporting equipment, like charging stations. It represented less than 1% of the hundreds of millions of dollars likely destined for Tesla vehicles after the Trump administration quietly revised a State Department procurement document.

… The person said the State Department and Tesla had agreed during the Biden administration to conduct research about armoring electric vehicles, but no money had been set aside to purchase armored Teslas for the State Department. A total budget of $483,000 had been approved to buy light-duty EVs as possible State Department vehicles. That plan was moving forward as recently as November 2024.

…
In a statement to NPR on Monday, a State Department spokesperson said the $400 million figure was "an estimate," pointing out that it was in the early stages and was not yet a full contract, but rather a proposal "strictly to gather information."

The department spokesman added: "the Department of State has no intention to move forward with the solicitation." …”
 
MAGAts and Trumplicans will react to Trump and Musk having “conflicts of interest” with the federal government and benefiting financially from them the same way they reacted to Trump not paying taxes.

They’ll say it shows how smart they are.
 
nycfan said:
“… It appeared as if the State Department was taking steps to award Elon Musk's Tesla a $400 million government contract to buy armored electric vehicles to securely transport diplomats. The move to set in motion a lucrative contract to a company controlled by a high-profile ally of President Trump's seemed so bold it surprised even longtime observers of the norm-busting president.

When asked about it, the State Department issued a statement saying the purchase is now on hold with no plans of fulfilling the contract, pointing out that talks with Tesla began during the Biden administration.

But NPR has obtained a State Department document detailing that Biden's State Department planned to spend just $483,000 in the 2025 fiscal year on buying electric vehicles and $3 million for supporting equipment, like charging stations. It represented less than 1% of the hundreds of millions of dollars likely destined for Tesla vehicles after the Trump administration quietly revised a State Department procurement document.

… The person said the State Department and Tesla had agreed during the Biden administration to conduct research about armoring electric vehicles, but no money had been set aside to purchase armored Teslas for the State Department. A total budget of $483,000 had been approved to buy light-duty EVs as possible State Department vehicles. That plan was moving forward as recently as November 2024.

…
In a statement to NPR on Monday, a State Department spokesperson said the $400 million figure was "an estimate," pointing out that it was in the early stages and was not yet a full contract, but rather a proposal "strictly to gather information."

The department spokesman added: "the Department of State has no intention to move forward with the solicitation." …”
Click to expand...
NPR is going to wind up on the chopping block soon with this type of reporting.
 
Musk’s threat was condemned by Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, one of the unions suing OPM.

“Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump Administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people,” Kelley said in a statement.

“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” Kelley said.

 
Zoo_View said:
MAGAts and Trumplicans will react to Trump and Musk having “conflicts of interest” with the federal government and benefiting financially from them the same way they reacted to Trump not paying taxes.

They’ll say it shows how smart they are.
Click to expand...
In other words, they’ll respond to it however Trump does.
 
nycfan said:
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They'd have a great lawsuit for being fired for being gay. I do think the employees that were hired into DEI programs should be worried. For example, I'm making up a program that may or may not exist, but a program to encourage and support gay and lesbian farmers. The workers in that program are likely going to skew gay, but if you're gay or straight in such a program, I'd get that resume polished up.
 
gregh1 said:
NPR is going to wind up on the chopping block soon with this type of reporting.
Click to expand...
Probably going to regardless, may as well go out with a bang.

BTW, a pretty good article from a couple of years ago about the complexities of NPR funding sources:

thehill.com

The truth about NPR’s funding — and its possible future

It was tendentious — and inaccurate — for Elon Musk to identify NPR on his Twitter platform as a “government-affiliated” news organization. NPR may have its biases, notably in its story selection, …
thehill.com
 






I mean, we are lucky there is overlap in his legal practice, I guess.
 
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