MUSK PAID BACK EVERY LOAN FROM GOVERNMENT-—EARLY-—WITH ALL INTEREST
Musk defends receiving $4.9 billion in government support for Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX
https://www.rt.com/usa/264065-musk-tesla-government-subsidies/
Tesla CEO Elon Musk defended the backing his companies get from state and federal sources as legitimate business practices, blasting a newspaper report about government subsidies as “inexcusable” and inaccurate.
According to the report published by the Los Angeles Times over the weekend, Musk’s companies – Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX – have received an estimated $4.9 billion in government support in total over the years.
The electric entrepreneur didn’t deny the company gets the incentives,
The subsidies have been disclosed in the companies’ filings and public records, but no one has tallied all the various forms of public assistance over time, the paper said. Its estimates of subsidies are based on state and federal records, interviews with local and state officials, credit analysts, and watchdog groups.
According to the LA Times, Tesla Motors has received $2.391 billion in government subsidies, while SolarCity has received $2.516 billion. Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a private company that does not publicly report financial performance, received $20 million in local incentives and rebates for a space launch facility in Texas.
Among the examples cited by the paper was a $750 million solar panel factory in Buffalo, New York, which Musk’s SolarCity leased for $1 a year. The company will also not pay property taxes for a decade, amounting to $260 million in savings.
#ElonMusk car fuel: #Tesla has received $4.9 billion in govt. subsidies incl $1.3 billion in “incentives” from Nevada http://t.co/g3gZVLewDx
— Mitch Fox (@Mitch_Fox) May 31, 2015
Tesla is getting $1.3 million from Nevada to build a battery factory near Reno, and has received more than $517 million from other automakers by selling environmental credits, known as carbon offsets.
Though after ten years in business Tesla and SolarCity still operate at a net loss, the stocks of both companies are riding high on future potential, the LA Times reported.