Electric vehicle company Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) landed many deals with cities for vehicles that can be used by police or other government officials over the years.
One of those recent deals was canceled, but it doesn't appear that politics got in the way.
What Happened: A $5 million contract between Tesla and the Baltimore, Maryland, was paused in September, giving way to a rival scooping up the electric vehicle deal.
As reported by Teslarati, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott paused the deal in September with the city opting to "go in a different direction" for a fleet of electric vehicles for the city.
"No Tesla units have been ordered, and none are in the city's fleet," city spokesman John Riggin said, confirming Tesla was not being used for the deal.
Riggin said there was no obligation to spend the money with Tesla and the $5 million amount is a ceiling for maximum value and not a minimum commitment. The contract, set to run until 2027 saw the city turn from Tesla to EV rivals including General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) and Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) for consideration.
City Comptroller Bill Henry told the Baltimore Sun the city went back to buying Mustang Mach-Es from Ford, the vehicle that the Tesla deal originally replaced in July 2024.
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Why It's Important: The Tesla contract has not officially been canceled, according to the report, but Henry said the city is going back to Ford is likely a telling sign.
Switching from Tesla to Ford could draw some attention given Tesla CEO Elon Musk's political push and backing of Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
The state of Maryland was won by Kamala Harris in the 2024 election by a wide margin of 62.6% to 34.1% for Trump. Baltimore was also rather one-sided with Harris getting 195,109 votes to Trump's 27,984 votes.
The contract was paused in September, which came before Trump won and Musk amped up his push to help the president with the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had already funded Trump's campaign and been an outspoken endorsee by this time though, so a political move by the city can't completely be ruled out.
Baltimore aims to have carbon neutrality by 2045 with a goal of electrifying the city's vehicle fleet by 2030. Tesla left out of future deals could show that the city prefers other automakers for various moves and could be viewed as a political move.
TSLA Price Action: Tesla stock dropped 15.43% to $222.15 at market close Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $138.80 to $488.54. Tesla stock is down 41.4% year-to-date in 2025 and up 25% over the last year.
Tesla stock is now trading below where it was when Trump won the 2024 election. Tesla stock closed at $251.44 on Nov. 5 and opened for trading at $284.67 on Nov. 6 after Trump's victory was announced.
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Photos: Tesla, courtesy of Tesla Inc.; Ford, courtesy of Ford
