If I needed to choose a politician who's word I could not trust,...

If I needed to choose a politician who's word I could not trust, it would be Trump. There is extensive coverage around how many of the things he says are lies and misleading statements. With his track record you cannot trust what he directly says, however with some doubt I think you can trust his instinct that he does want to improve America, he doesn't want America to be reliant on China and he does want to create well paid job's for American's.

If Trump were to ask Elon whether a secure supply of high purity Manganese is important for America, I'm pretty sure Elon would say yes and while not part of the government infrastructure, Elon is going to have a number of policy informing discussions with Trump. I therefore presume that America will look to establish a supply source of HP Manganese that isn't dependent on imports from China.

Whether that is the option on the table by E25 or some other option I'm not sure. Is the E25 option backed by proven test work - yes. Does the E25 option create job's in a republican held state - yes. Are they expected to be well paying job's - yes. Does the proposed E25 plant reduce America's dependence on China - yes. Does the proposal align with the interests of major US auto makers like GM - yes. Could Trump be made to look stupid by cancelling the proposed E25 funding (and removing new, well paying jobs) - yes. These factors indicate to me that the deal is still on the table although clearly the T&C's may change and its only when an agreement is signed that certainty levels increase.

Would I be surprised if the structure and scale of the $3,500 / $7,000 per EV incentive scheme changes. Nope, change in that wouldn't be a surprise.