Steve Westly: The Linchpin to Funny (DOE) White House Loans - Another Obama $500,000 bundler

California political news/pajamasmedia ^ | October 17, 2011 | Stephen Frank

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“The most troubling transaction: a $465 million loan to California’s Tesla Motors. Tesla received a loan rate of 1.6% from DOE to manufacture an all-electric car that will sell for nearly $50,000. It will not exactly be the people’s car. Tesla also builds luxury sports cars that retail for $103,000 to $128,000.

Tesla also is no simple new age car company. It is owned and financed by big donors to the Democratic Party and to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Tesla’s principal owner is Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal. He has an estimated personal wealth of $672 million. His firm received venture capital from the The Westly Group, Daimler Chrysler, and from Abu Dhabi investors. The firm has partnerships with luxury sports car manufacturer Lotus and with Mercedes-Benz.

The secret to access to the DOE money is The Westly Group, run by California Democratic Party stalwart and big Obama campaign bundler Steve Westly. The former eBay executive wasn’t merely a prodigious fundraiser for Obama, raising $500,000 for his presidential campaign. He also served as the president’s California campaign co-chairman.

Another Obama $500,000 bundler was Solyndra investor George Kaiser and his foundation.”

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related article

Obama bundler Steven Westly enjoys White House access and DOE funding

The Obama years have been good to venture capitalist and former California gubernatorial candidate Steven Westly.

Westly was a big help to the 2008 Obama presidential campaign, and now enjoys significant access to Obama administration officials

The Center for Public Integrity reports that four of the companies in which his venture firm, Westly Group, have invested have received more than $510 million in grants and loans from the Energy Department.

Two of those companies, Tesla Motors and Amyris Biotechnologies, have since gone public.

Westly, who refused to speak to the center, sits on a board that advises Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Steven Westly