President elect, Donald Trump attack aircraft manufacturer, Boeing on Twitter on Tuesday, calling the U.S government to cancel the order for development of a new Air Force One.
The Air Force had signed a deal with Boeing in January and also in July to design certain parts of the new presidential aircraft, including its interior, electrical and power system, and maintenance systems.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated in March said that the entire program would cost $3.2 billion from the 2010 through 2020 fiscal years, including $2 billion for research and development.
Trump in his tweet without citing evidence, said that the deal was going to cost taxpayers $4 billion.
Shortly after the tweet, the President-elect met with reporters at Trump Tower and said;
The plane is totally out of control. It’s going to be over $4 billion for Air Force One program and I think it’s ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.
It is not immediately clear if the President-elect will halt the deal with Boeing when he takes office in January. The tweet by Donald Trump also droves Boeing share down 0.8% to $150.93 at 9:45 a.m.
Donald Trump himself owns a Boeing 757 aircraft, and used it during his campaign. He also owns Boeing shares as shown in his filing of a financial disclosure form during his presidential campaign.
Trump sold his Boeing stock worth between $50,001 and $100,000, but sold all his stocks in June.