The State Department said Thursday that it had put plans to buy armored electric vehicles on hold after reports that the $400 million order would go to Tesla, whose CEO, Elon Musk, is one of President Donald Trump’s most important advisers and supporters.

The agency pushed back against suggestions that the purchase was designed to benefit Musk, saying in a statement that the plans stemmed from a request by the Biden administration “to explore interest from private companies to produce armored electric vehicles.”

The planned purchase was listed in the department’s procurement forecast for 2025, which is intended to give businesses a chance to compete for projects. The document was published in December, after Trump won the election but before he took office.

Tesla’s name was removed from the document after the existence of the list was reported late Wednesday. Plans to order Tesla vehicles had provoked controversy because of Musk’s close association with Trump.

Musk spent more than $250 million to help elect Trump, who then appointed him as the leader of a cost-cutting initiative that has been called the Department of Government Efficiency.

Later Wednesday, a different version of the procurement document appeared online. It referred to “armored electric vehicles,” omitting any mention of Tesla. But even that project is no longer being discussed, the department said. It said it would still allow companies to submit proposals.

The plan to buy armored electric vehicles, whether Teslas or other makes, would be a departure for the Trump administration.

Among Trump’s first actions as president were executive orders calling for the removal of incentives and regulations that promote electric vehicles.

Such cars and trucks were central to former President Joe Biden’s efforts to fight climate change.