Israel has asked Tesla to bid for a contract to supply government cars, in an apparent overture from Benjamin Netanyahu to Elon Musk.

The prime minister signalled his intent by posting news of the proposal on X. Mr Musk, who owns both X and Tesla, said it was “much appreciated”.

The move appears to show his determination to forge stronger links with the world’s richest man and arguably the most influential figure in the new Trump White House.

Mr Netanyahu seems prepared to brave the disapproval of significant sections of Jewish society which were appalled by Mr Musk’s alleged Nazi salute in January, and previous instances where he was accused of amplifying anti-Semitic content online.

Appearing to reference the controversy – and adopting language Mr Musk would understand – an unnamed official said: “We aren’t going to bow to woke trends.

“A car is a car is a car. And a great car is a great car is a great car.”

According to the original report, Israel’s government has asked Tesla Inc to submit a tender to supply electric cars to top officials.

Israel’s government predicts that there will be 1.3 million electric cars on the road in the country by 2030 and wants all approximately six million private cars to be electric by 2050.

Behind a Tesla Cybertruck

Mr Netanyahu and his wife visited the Tesla factory in California in September 2023, days before the October 7 massacre, and was pictured behind the wheel of a Tesla Cybertruck and meeting Mr Musk.

Mr Musk subsequently visited Israel in November that year and was given a tour of Kfar Aza, one of the massacre sites, by the prime minister.

Following Mr Musk’s controversial arm gesture during Mr Trump’s inauguration celebrations in January, Mr Netanyahu came to his defence, describing the Tesla boss as “falsely smeared” and a “great friend of Israel”.

“He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” he tweeted at the time.

“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.”

Mr Musk’s elevated position within Mr Trump’s inner circle has also seen the US president parade Tesla vehicles at the White House.

Mr Trump said he would buy one of the vehicles, and announced plans to declare violence against the car company’s dealerships as domestic terrorism.

Tesla has been hit by arson attacks in America, Germany and France in recent weeks, with dozens of vehicles being destroyed.