Democrats ask Rubio for answers about Tesla plans

Two top Congressional Democrats on foreign policy matters pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday about a now-cancelled effort to purchase $400 million worth armored electric vehicles made by Tesla.

Earlier this week, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut also wrote Rubio a letter demanding details about plans to purchase Teslas.

“This raises serious questions about whether the Department not only scrubbed the document to remove any references to Tesla but also may have backdated the publicly available documentation to give the false impression that every element of these procurement plans – including the $400 million value – originated in the prior Administration,” wrote the Democratic congressmen.

The State Department and Musk did not return requests for comment.

The lawmakers ask Rubio if State Department officials intentionally changed the electric vehicle purchase amount from $483,000 to $400 million, who oversaw the change and for proof that the contract has been “definitively abandoned.”