“Because without government subsidy, Tesla would not be making cars...it would be a failed business venture.”
Perhaps at the outset Tesla would not have succeeded without the electric car subsidy. But now that they’re established in the market and enough people like them I imagine they’d survive without the subsidy.
Also, Tesla has paid back the $400 million Federal loan they got started on and their direct subsidy for producing electric vehicles totaled $2.4 billion as of August 2020.
For producing what is a stylish and relatively reliable car.
By comparison Ford took out $6 billion in Federal loans to start their electric vehicle program and they haven’t paid back even one penny. Ford has also received $33.5 billion in subsidies to produce electric vehicles that are not nearly as popular and reliable as the Tesla products.
GM & Chrysler took out $67bn in Federal loans to start their electric car programs which failed and both firms went bankrupt and the loans will never be paid pack.
Tesla is prospering in this market and I expect if the Feds cut off the money spigot then Tesla would end up the sole manufacturer of electric vehicles and they might even do better when the inept competition leaves the market.
From recent filings, it seems most of their *profit comes from China. The US cost of business doesn’t seem to inspire them.
Tesla hasn’t got the subsidy for a few years now. And Elon is anti subsidy.
“Ford has also received $33.5 billion in subsidies to produce electric vehicles that are not nearly as popular and reliable as the Tesla products.”
The statement that they are not as popular may have some merit if you look at the number of sales of Mach e’s vs all Teslas. It may not if you place Teslas and a Mach e side by side and see which one people like best.
The “not as reliable” comment is, I believe, unsupportable. Teslas are plagued with problems with software and hardware. For instance, search “Model Y roof blows off on highway”. Or search “Fix your Tesla”.
But perhaps you can substantiate that claim.