I am against subsidies of any kind - especially have tremendous hate in my heart for using corn to make ethanol. One of the biggest boondoggles ever and the ripple effect is bad everywhere.
However, I don’t blame Musk for taking advantage of the system in place long before he arrived on the scene. We have allowed our politicians to subvert the free market to benefit themselves and they have run wild with it. When government picks the winners and losers the politicians ALWAYS WIN.
I give Musk credit for innovation. Men like him are rarely “Saints” in the eyes of many, but these kind of visionaries have led to groundbreaking innovations that benefit all of mankind. For every “hit” there are usually many misses and I admire anyone who stands in the box and swings and for them it is rarely about the money. I don’t envision battery operated cars sweeping the market in the near term, but who can clearly see the future of technology? We simply don’t know and it is foolish to speak in absolutes. Battery technology will continue to advance as will the engines that use it. I just recently purchased several Dewalt brushless XR tools and they are a major improvement over those I purchased only a few years ago - last longer, less heat, and even the batteries are much improved.