After Donald Trump's support to Tesla, Israel invites bids to buy EVs for officials, Elon Musk thanks Benjamin Netanyahu

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, thanked the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after Jerusalem asked his EV maker company, Tesla, to submit a bid on a tender to provide electric cars to the top Jewish state officials.

Taking to the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Musk shared a post by Netanyahu, which mentioned a report on Israel's request to buy Tesla. Replying to the post, Tesla boss Musk wrote, “Much appreciated.”

Benjamin Netanyahu shared a report by the news agency Jewish News Syndicate (JNS). The report referred to  Israel's plans to buy Tesla cars for its top officials.

“We aren’t going to bow to woke trends,” an official told 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,” the official added.

Donald Trump's support to Tesla

Israel's decision comes after US President Donald Trump purchased a red Tesla Model S Plaid on Tuesday for $80,000 ( approx ₹70 lakhs) to support the billionaire as his electric vehicle company faces protests and backlash due to his involvement with the US government through DOGE, AP reported.

“Wow, that's beautiful,” said Trump as he got into the driver's seat of a red Tesla. At the same time, Elon Musk climbed into the passenger seat and joked about “giving the Secret Service a heart attack” as they talked about how to start a vehicle, the report said.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk

Earlier, Netanyahu extended his support to Musk after the billionaire was criticised after he raised his arm in a manner which was interpreted as a Nazi salute, while addressing a crowd of Trump supporters at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC.

Defending Musk, Netanyahu wrote on X, “Elon is a great friend of Israel. He visited Israel after the October 7, [2023], massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust."

The Israeli Prime Minister further added, “He has since repeatedly and forcefully supported Israel’s right to defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes who seek to annihilate the one and only Jewish state."