Rachel Maddow Instantly Fact-Checked after Spouting Bizarre Conspiracy Theory About Trump and Musk
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow suggested—without evidence—that President Donald Trump approved a $400 million contract for military purchases of Tesla Cybertrucks, insinuating that Elon Musk invested nearly $300 million in electing Trump to secure a return on investment.
The Cybertruck “is not just supposed to be ‘tough’ like a pickup truck. It’s supposed to be, like, inhuman, super duper tough,” Maddow said sarcastically.
Musk “somehow convinced the United States government, specifically the United States Department of State, that the taxpayers of the United States of America should spend $400 million buying ‘armored Tesla production units,’” she added.
Maddow went on to slam the “hilarious” deal for buying “paperweights” while showing B-roll footage of Cybertrucks running into trees or failing to cross tributaries.
This is despite “Donald Trump’s claim that, boy, they’ve sure found a lot of waste in the government.”
Maddow exclaimed that the deal is “definitely not illegal or profoundly corrupt.”
Watch
However, the since-paused contract with Tesla was actually signed off on by the Biden-Harris administration.
READ: Rachel Maddow Suffers Full-Blown Meltdown over Tulsi Gabbard
Maddow was fact-checked by Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt, who called her out on X.
“She conveniently left out that the procurement list was revised in Dec 2024, when Biden was President. The Tesla line item was last modified on December 13, 2024,” he wrote.
“Unfortunately, because Rachel entirely left out this important context, many of her 1.7 million nightly viewers will believe her misleading narrative.”
Merritt argued that only Tesla can hold the mantle for American-made vehicles at the lowest cost.
“Tesla is the most American-made auto manufacturer in the U.S. Every Tesla sold in America is built in America. When you buy a Tesla, you are supporting American industry. Teslas have a lower cost of ownership compared to ICE cars. The government would likely save money buying armored Teslas instead of armored ICE cars, based on what we’ve seen with long local law enforcement trials,” he finished.
The Trump administration pushed back on the notion that Musk was benefiting from a quid pro quo with the president.
Trump’s State Department stated that the proposal originated with the Biden administration “to explore interest from private companies to produce armored electric vehicles,” adding that “the solicitation is on hold, and there are no current plans to issue it” as part of the administration’s ongoing funding freeze.
“No government contract has been awarded to Tesla or any other vehicle manufacturer to produce armored electric vehicles for the Department of State,” a spokesman told Axios.
Musk also responded, writing in reply to Merritt, “I’m pretty sure Tesla isn’t getting $400M. No one mentioned it to me, at least.”
“Why the lie?” he asked, tagging Maddow’s X account.
READ: Tom Homan Destroys Joy Reid After Immigration Remarks: She’s ‘Dumber than a Box of Rocks’