Posted on 12/07/2021 4:00:56 PM PST by Hojczyk
The billionaire entrepreneur is escalating criticism about the administration and Democrats for a proposal to give union-made, U.S.-built electric vehicles an additional $4,500 tax incentive. Tesla and foreign automakers do not have unions at their U.S. factories.
"Honestly, it might be better if the bill doesn't pass," Musk said at the WSJ CEO Council Summit.
"I'm literally saying get rid of all subsidies," he said, adding that the government should "get out of the way and not impede progress."
Tesla has benefited from a variety of government aid and programs.
Since 2019, Tesla generated more than $3 billion revenue from selling regulatory credits to other automakers falling short of meeting government emissions standards. The rise in the income helped Tesla start making annual profits last year.
The company acquired its Fremont, Calif., assembly plant from the government as it restructured General Motors. Tesla also received a $465 million low-cost loan from the Department of Energy, which it repaid early.
Tesla also benefited from a $7,500-per-vehicle federal tax credit. That credit applied in full to the first 200,000 Teslas sold, and then phased out.
In his comments on Monday, Musk also reiterated opposition to a proposal by Democrats to tax billionaires.
"It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill ... and give it to, you know, an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government."
Musk said his brain-chip startup, Neuralink, hopes to begin human trials next year pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"I think we have a chance with Neuralink of being able to restore full body functionality to someone who has a spinal cord injury," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Elon is an odd bird amongst billionaires. Sometimes he sounds like a hard leftist then other times he doesn’t. Maybe his views are simply his own and he doesn’t care what the political flavor of the day is.
I don’t really care, frankly. My opinion is that no industry ought to get government subsidy (either via tax credits for consumers or directly, OR through price supports) and he certainly has benefitted from those very same policies in one way or another. He’s just ticked that this new measure only is for union built EVs....
I think he is the richest man on earth, owing to his massive stake in Tesla at $1000+ a share last I checked. He sold $8 billion or so in shares just to make a point about taxing the rich next year, so he would pay this years’ lower rate. He rich on paper, and rich in cash.
I don’t think the subsidies did much for Tesla to be honest. Sure, the car buyers took them but the people buying the $80,000+ cars don’t really make a decision on that.
Tesla makes most of its free cash selling carbon credits, which is a scam of another mother.
That may be true but he likes to goof around and troll people too. I’d have to check but I bet he paid off Tesla loans from cash raises in the capital markets. Nothing wrong with that, that’s how it’s supposed to work.
I wasn’t much a fan of his cars in the first model years. Maybe they have improved since then. I give him kudos for building out his own supercharging network too. Biden wants to build 500,000 or whatever number charging stations using taxpayer money.
Where’s our resident union apologist on this? Don’t see him here yet.
You own Tesla stock huh?
To deny that government subsidies didn’t help sell and thus build Tesla is nuts.
Government should not be in the business building business regardless of the outcome.
He wants it all for himself
I like him a lot.
Biden & Dems are practicing DISCRIMINATION against Non-Union autos.
MUSK PAID BACK every penny-—early—and with ALL interest.
So did Lee Iacocca. The point is he got it. And tax credits for buyers. Now he wants the bill not to pass because only unions benefit, i.e.., not him.
Sure is easy to say when he already got his subsidies and he’s not eligible for them anymore...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.