Tesla contract with Baltimore paused after city 'decided to go in a different direction'

03/07/2025 12:59 PM

Last Summer, Tesla landed a $5 million contract with the City of Baltimore for a fleet of electric vehicles for the local government. However, Mayor Brandon Scott decided to pause that investment in September after the City “decided to go in a different direction.”

This is according to John Riggin, spokesman for the city’s Department of General Services. Riggin confirmed that the contract with Tesla has not been fulfilled, and Baltimore is going with other options for the time being:

"No Tesla units have been ordered, and none are in the City's fleet.”

It now seems that the contract, which was set to be run until 2027, is not really a typical “contract” in the sense of the word. Riggin said the city is not obligated to spend the money for vehicles from Tesla, and that it is evaluating offerings from a variety of OEMs, including Ford and General Motors.

Tesla chosen over Ford for $5 million Baltimore City EV fleet

Riggin said the value of the contract is more of a ceiling and not necessarily an obligation to spend the committed amount in full.

The contract has not been canceled officially, but City Comptroller Bill Henry said to the Baltimore Sun that it has gone back to purchasing Mustang Mach-Es from Ford, the vehicle that was snubbed for Teslas back in July when things were initially decided.

The timing of the pause is interesting, and it does not seem to have anything to do with CEO Elon Musk’s direct involvement with the Trump administration, although the EV maker’s frontman was already vocalizing his distaste for the Democratic White House run by the Biden Administration.

Baltimore has a citywide goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, and has used EVs in its fleet for several years to reach that goal. It plans to electrify the city vehicle fleet by 2030.

The post Tesla contract with Baltimore paused after city ‘decided to go in a different direction’ appeared first on TESLARATI.