Netanyahu appears to confirm seeking Tesla car contract amid backlash against Elon Musk
Billionaire adviser to Trump thanks Netanyahu after premier posts about deal, but report says no such tender actually exits
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday reposted an article saying that the government had invited Tesla to participate in a tender to supply vehicles to top Israeli government officials, drawing thanks from under fire billionaire and car-maker CEO Elon Musk.
However, a leading Israeli business daily on Friday reported that no such tender currently exists, leading to speculation that the move was a PR stunt to seek approval from Musk, who has become a right-hand man to US President Donald Trump.
The report in the Jewish News Syndicate on Thursday cited a “senior Israeli government source” as saying that Israel had invited Tesla to submit a bid on a tender to provide electric cars for top Israeli officials.
“We aren’t going to bow to woke trends,” said the source cited by JNS. “A car is a car is a car. And a great car is a great car is a great car. Teslas are great cars and we look forward to studying their bid.”
On X, which Musk owns, Netanyahu posted a link to the JNS report, indicating the source came from his office. Musk, whom Netanyahu has defended amid accusations of antisemitism, posted in response: “Much appreciated.”
However, according to The Marker, the reported tender does not appear on relevant government websites. The newspaper cited a source with knowledge of the details as saying there is no such tender.
The Marker said the JNS report was “apparently a spin, meant to enable the Israeli government to join public shows of support for Elon Musk and Tesla.” Nor did Tesla require a special invitation to submit a bid, the newspaper said.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 13, 2025
The Marker also reported Tesla had not submitted bids for tenders that were held in January and in 2023. According to the newspaper, the company’s prices were not competitive and its service in Israel was limited compared to other companies.
Musk and Netanyahu have each expressed support for each other in the past.
Musk attended Netanyahu’s address to the US Congress in July. In November 2023, the billionaire toured with Netanyahu in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which had been ravaged in the Hamas onslaught of October 7 that year. The tour came days after Musk sparked an exodus of investors from X by endorsing a post that said Jews stoke violence against white people.
In February, Musk responded, “the deep state is everywhere,” to a post linking to a video critical of Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trials.
Netanyahu in January called Musk a “great friend of Israel” after the billionaire was slammed for giving what appeared to be a Nazi salute following Trump’s inauguration. The next day, Musk posted a string of Holocaust jokes.
On the day JNS reported Israel could buy cars from Musk, the billionaire, who has led a massive cut to US government programs, re-posted a comment that “Stalin, Mao, and Hitler didn’t murder millions of people. Their public sector employees did.”
The JNS report came after Tesla’s stock price dropped on Monday to its lowest rate since Trump was elected in November, with Musk’s robust support in cash and on social media.
The stock had reached a high in December, a month after Trump was elected. On Monday, it dropped 15% — the company’s steepest price drop since 2020.
Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts have cut their growth projections for Tesla due to its declining sales numbers. There have also been increased instances of vandalism, protests and violence against the company. On Thursday, a Tesla leadership in Oregon was shot at for the second time in a week.
Musk has angered many consumers in the US and Europe for leading or backing the White House’s mass terminations of US federal employees, support for European far-right parties, and demands for concessions from Kyiv to end the Ukraine-Russia war, which Moscow initiated in 2022.
On Tuesday, a day after Tesla’s stock plummeted, Trump, with Musk at his side, showcased Tesla vehicles on the White House lawn. The US president, who said he would buy a car, was photographed holding a handwritten note with the vehicles’ prices.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has contracts worth billions of dollars with the US government. The day of the White House Tesla showcase, The New York Times reported Musk had signaled to Trump’s advisers that he would funnel $100 million into groups controlled by the US president’s political operation.
The Times of Israel Community.