

Elon Musk
Elon Musk responds to Tesla’s $400m armored EV contract with U.S. govt
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to the news that the automaker would be awarded a $400 million contract from the U.S. Department of State to supply the U.S. government with armored electric vehicles.
Yesterday, we reported that according to the U.S. Department of State’s Procurement List for 2025, Tesla was set to win a $400 million contract to supply the government with armored EVs — most ideally, the Cybertruck would be used.
Tesla projected to win $400M Dept. of State contract for armored EVs
The expenditure was listed in the public list and was added by the previous White House as former President Joe Biden was still in office when Tesla was added to the list.
The list does not guarantee that a contract will be awarded, but it does show the Department of State’s “anticipated contract” offerings.
In a short 20 hours since the story was reported, a lot has changed.
First, the Department of State updated the list to remove Tesla’s name from the line where it listed the award, meaning it was either a mistake or a response to potential pushback the public might have.
? The U.S. Department of State has now modified the Procurement List, removing the word “Tesla” from the row. It now simply says “Armored Electric Vehicles.”
Musk said he “is pretty sure” Tesla is not receiving $400m from the government for this project. https://t.co/VMavkS3ZQg pic.twitter.com/XjheceyVht
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 13, 2025
Considering Musk’s position at the post of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), it is understandable that some might have a problem with the contract if it were to be awarded.
Secondly, Musk has responded to claims that the contract was intended on being awarded to Tesla, as he said:
“I’m pretty sure Tesla isn’t getting $400m. No one mentioned it to me, at least.”
I’m pretty sure Tesla isn’t getting $400M. No one mentioned it to me, at least.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 13, 2025
There are still plans to launch a government fleet of both armored and plain EVs. Who will win those contracts and be awarded the opportunity to provide them is still up in the air.
Tesla is in a prime position to win those contracts because of its focus on domestic manufacturing and sourcing. In the U.S., Tesla’s Model Y was the most American vehicle, the Cars.com study showed. The Model S was fourth, the Model X was ninth, and the Model 3 was 21st.
The Cybertruck was disqualified from the list due to its gross weight.
Tesla also has the production capacity and a proven track record of fulfilling it, something else that will be a necessity with President Trump in the White House.
Other carmakers could potentially be in the running, but they will need to show their ability to handle manufacturing the fleet that the government could ultimately buy.
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk hits back at former Tesla employee who disagrees with pay package
Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined. Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla?
It won’t be me.

Elon Musk gave a tough response to a former Tesla employee who spoke out on X about the structure of the CEO’s pay package, arguing that it is an overpayment and would not generate enough shareholder value.
Without a doubt, the biggest issue on the bill at this year’s Tesla Shareholder Meeting in November is that of the pay package that was proposed to CEO Elon Musk.
As the Shareholder Meeting approaches, Tesla is urging those investors to vote in support of Musk’s pay package. So far, the community has been overwhelmingly supportive of giving Musk his massive payday, which could give him $1 trillion in additional holdings if he completes each of the outlined performance tranches.
However, there are a handful of institutional and individual shareholders who have pushed back against the package, either because of its value or because they feel it does not benefit shareholders enough.
Last week, we reported that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) advised voting against Tesla’s pay package for Musk. The firm said the payday would give Musk”extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years,” and it would “reduce the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package hits first adversity from proxy firm
Additionally, it called the value of the pay package “astronomical.”
On Saturday, a former Tesla employee said on X that Tesla’s proposed pay package for Musk would “barely beat inflation and it would underperform the S&P 500 considerably.” Additionally, he said:
“Sorry, Tesla, some of us (and supposedly, ISS too) simply don’t think that underperforming the S&P 500 this much is worth paying somebody 20 billion dollars worth of company value.
As a fan, I love Tesla, I want it to succeed. As a shareholder, I don’t want Tesla to over-pay for its CEO I strongly believe that the 2025 pay package proposal would over-pay for its CEO, and that other competent CEOs could grow Tesla just as much with way less political drama and cost investors much less that this proposal.”
Musk responded bluntly:
“Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined. Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla? It won’t be me.”
Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined. Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla?
It won’t be me.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 19, 2025
It seems the worry about Musk’s potential involvement in politics still looms to many, based on the responses to Musk’s post, which frequently mention that as a downside of his last year as Tesla CEO. However, Tesla’s Board confronted that directly.
In its proxy filing after announcing the pay package, Tesla said that it had three commitments, one of which was that the company would “receive assurances that Musk’s involvement with the political sphere would wind down in a timely manner.”
Tesla Board takes firm stance on Elon Musk’s political involvement in pay package proxy
Musk’s previous pay package was approved by shareholders twice, but it never made it to the CEO because of a lawsuit with the Delaware Chancery Court brought forth by a small-time shareholder.
The response from Musk does seem to show that if this time is no different, he will inevitably step down as CEO in the coming years.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: Grok 5 now has a 10% chance of becoming world’s first AGI
If his prediction comes to pass, xAI could very well become yet another world-changing company from Elon Musk.

Elon Musk has shared his most optimistic forecast about Grok 5’s capabilities yet. In a recent post on X, Musk stated that he now believes that the upcoming update to xAI’s large language model has a 10% chance of achieving artificial general intelligence.
If his prediction comes to pass, xAI could very well become yet another world-changing company from Elon Musk.
Musk’s previous Grok 5 estimate
Just last month, Elon Musk estimated that xAI might have a chance at achieving artificial general intelligence with Grok 5. Musk’s comments at the time already made headlines, considering that no company in the world today has achieved AGI yet, though numerous AI startups today are actively pursuing artificial general intelligence.
In a recent post on X, Musk noted that his “estimate of the probability of Grok 5 achieving AGI is now at 10% and rising.” In another post, he also noted that “Grok 5 will be AGI or something indistinguishable from AGI.” Grok 5 is yet to be released, though Musk’s comments about the update are definitely setting expectations.
AGI will be world changing
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) refers to an AI system that is capable of matching or surpassing human-level intelligence across tasks such as thinking, reasoning, and other domains by a notable margin, as noted in a previous report from Benzinga. With AGI achieved, industries from robotics to manufacturing would likely see a notable boost.
As per a report from the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), AGI could eventually pave the way for artificial super intelligence (ASI), which would be more intelligent than AGI and likely more intelligent than all of humanity combined.
Elon Musk
Tesla will launch driverless rides in Las Vegas, but not where you think
Elon Musk has a big update for Teslas that operate within the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop.

Tesla vehicles operating in the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop are about to get a big change, CEO Elon Musk said.
In Las Vegas, the Boring Company operates the Vegas Loop, an underground tunnel system that uses Teslas to drop people off at various hotspots on the strip. It’s been active for a few years now and is expanding to other resorts, hotels, and destinations.
Currently, there are stops at three resorts: Westgate, the Encore, and Resorts World. However, there will eventually be “over 100 stations and span over 68 miles of tunnel,” the Vegas Loop website says.
The Loop utilizes Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to send passengers to their desired destinations. They are now being driven using the Full Self-Driving suite, but they also have safety drivers in each vehicle to ensure safety.
Tesla Cybertruck rides are crucial for Vegas Loop expansion to airport
Tesla and the Boring Company have been working to remove drivers from the vehicles used in the Loop, but now, it appears there is a set timeline to have them out, according to CEO Elon Musk:
The Tesla cars operating in The Boring Company tunnels under Las Vegas will be driverless in a month or two https://t.co/mX4nNrJui9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2025
Musk says the Boring Co. will no longer rely on safety drivers within the Teslas for operation. Instead, Tesla will look to remove the safety drivers from the cars within the next month or two, a similar timeline for what Musk believes the Robotaxi platform will look like in Austin.
In Texas, as Robotaxi continues to operate as it has since June, there are still safety monitors within the car who sit in the passenger’s seat. They are there to ensure a safe experience for riders.
When the route takes the vehicle on the highway, safety monitors move into the driver’s seat.
However, Tesla wants to be able to remove safety monitors from its vehicles in Austin by the end of the year, Musk has said recently.
In early September, Musk said that the safety monitors are “just there for the first few months to be extra safe.” He then added that there “should be no safety driver by end of year.”
The safety driver is just there for the first few months to be extra safe.
Should be no safety driver by end of year.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2025
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