Replies

> Paying the loan back. Half a billion dollars?! Plus, apparently another 300 million? When are they projected to that back. An honest answer would be appreciated. Five years, ten years, ... never? Just the principal is huge. That doesn't include any interest.

> Okay dividing the number of cars into the loan was silly. But apparently they are in-deep if they had to ask for another 300 million. My guess from this would be that they have already spent the first 400+ million. Yikes. And what do they have to show for it. 400 million isn't chump change. A sustainable business?

> Affordability. They had better mainstream the damn thing or things or else it will be a very expensive “luxury” car that only elite liberals can afford. An Edsel. Only it will be a waste of taxpayer's money.

> Charging electric cars. The energy has to come from somewhere. It is not produced from fairy dust. It is a basic law of physics.

As for new power capacity to support electric cars....it is virtually impossible these days to build power plants. Lets see — nukes, no way. Remember Japan? Coal? Forget it. Hydroelectric — absolutely not. Might displace some fish somewhere. Nat gas/fracking — the EPA haven't caught up with that yet. Wind/solar? Ya right.

And how long does it take for a new power plant to come on line? Five years, 10 years? Until power availability is addressed, it is a joke and apparently the people pitching electric cars either haven't considered this fact or if they have, then they are hoping that we will be too stupid to figure it out for ourselves.

At the moment, there seems to be literally no concern over Tesla’s ability to repay the loan, except maybe from you. Tesla has committed to the lenders to paying the loan off early as cash flow permits, and has publicly stated their intent to do just that.

I should think you would not be worried about affordability unless you want to buy one - but considering you hostility to the very idea of electric cars, I doubt that is your intent. But why are you concerned about other people’s buying decisions?

A waste of taxpayer’s money. I doubt that will be the case if your only concern is whether or not the loan will be repaid. My position is that the government has no business investing in private concerns regardless of whether the investment is a good one or a bad one. It’s just totally inappropriate, period. That includes direct investment, loan guarantees, I don’t care. Making investments in favored industries is not one of the enumerated powers. End of story.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the electric power plant situation, we’re already adapted. This is something I have a great deal of familiarity with having been in the business. Eventually, new capacity will be built, despite the environmental nutcases we have in this country who have wormed themselves into positions of influence. You are about right on your power plant timetable. ten years for design and construction is now the norm, even for a coal or oil fired plant. Dams and nuclear are a century, maybe. It’s a problem, agreed, but the link you are trying to make to electric cars is tenuous. It’s just not realistic.

As to your inquiry as to the repayment timetable. Apparently the original loan called for repayment in ten years, but Tesla intends to repay the loan within five years. Looking at the Tesla cash flow and forecast revenues and expenses over the coming five years, it should be a very straightforward proposition to repay the loan entirely within that time.

http://www.timescolonist.com/business/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-vows-to-repay-government-loan-in-half-the-time-required-1.81148