US Government Orders $636 Million of Armoured Teslas

The US State Department has put aside hundreds of millions of dollars for “Armoured Teslas”.

The single line item in its 2025 budget, as reported by Electrek, shows US$400 million – or AU$636 million – has been allocated for the bulletproof Tesla vehicles.

Curiously, the budget allocation was listed under the code used for “all other miscellaneous food manufacturing”.

Tesla claims its Cybertruck is bulletproof, with several independent tests showing the electric pick-up being able to withstand 9mm and .45 ACP pistol rounds – however, those same tests showed it was susceptible to small rifle calibres like the .17 HMR and .223 Remington.

In August 2024, aftermarket tuner Unplugged Performance partnered with Archimedes Defence to create a series of Cybertrucks for police and the military – including an armoured personnel carrier (pictured).

While the US Government has yet to provide details of its future Tesla fleet, it’s likely there would be a call for a higher level of armoured protection than the Cybertruck provides as standard – with the State Department responsible for 271 diplomatic posts across the world.

It’s also not clear whether the order is for several Tesla models or a specific model.

The Cybertruck would be well suited to having armoured protection added, given all of its panels are flat – likely saving money during manufacturing.

Often, armouring specialists face difficulties with modern cars, given most have sculpted exterior and interior panels – requiring dozens of unique ballistics panels to be created.

Despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close relationship with recently-elected US President Donald Trump, according to Electrek, the US State Department’s 2025 budget was approved by the previous administration.