Posted on 05/31/2015 9:27:33 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Los Angeles entrepreneur Elon Musk has built a multibillion-dollar fortune running companies that make electric cars, sell solar panels and launch rockets into space.
And he's built those companies with the help of billions in government subsidies.
Tesla Motors Inc., SolarCity Corp. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, together have benefited from an estimated $4.9 billion in government support, according to data compiled by The Times. The figure underscores a common theme running through his emerging empire: a public-private financing model underpinning long-shot start-ups.
"He definitely goes where there is government money," said Dan Dolev, an analyst at Jefferies Equity Research. "That's a great strategy, but the government will cut you off one day."
The figure compiled by The Times comprises a variety of government incentives, including grants, tax breaks, factory construction, discounted loans and environmental credits that Tesla can sell. It also includes tax credits and rebates to buyers of solar panels and electric cars.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
echoes thru my cranial cavity..
I have a feeeeling he's a Beatles fan..
Comments, anyone?
In the words of that old ball player..
Big Gubamint been berry berry good to me.
Is he going to repay any of that money?
Musk/Tesla and company are very good about repaying Govt loans. He does his mooching in other ways
/johnny
Compare the grant amounts to political donations and where they go, to have a better context for this money-go-round.
SpaceX got it’s start because the Russians tried to rip off Musk when he tried to buy rockets from them. Subsidies had nothing to do with it.
Also, the cost of a SpaceX launch is much less than its competitors, and will probably go even lower in the future. The competitors are already being forced to be more efficient. So I’d say the issue of subsidies is minor in that market.
“Compare the grant amounts to political donations and where they go, to have a better context for this money-go-round.”
Exactly. I also wonder if he donated to Clinton Crime Foundation while he was at it?
If all goes according to plan, Tesla will bring down the price of an electric car to the point that subsidies or tax breaks won’t be necessary.
While subsidies are an issue, they don’t deserve to be the main focus when it comes to SpaceX or Tesla.
Having recently bought a home in southern CT, we figured we'd check out solar panels as a way to not be so dependent on the grid. Also, we wanted to explore storing this energy in batteries so that we could perhaps become 100% off the grid with regard to electricity.
So we had Solar City do the site inspection for us and they determined that due to the fact that most of our roof is east/west facing (as opposed to the more desirable south-facing roof), we would only be able to supply 42% of our electrical needs with solar panels.
So we said no dice. However, for months, the Solar City people kept calling with high-pressure tactics to get us to change our minds. While it did not make economical sense for us, it evidently did make sense for Solar City as they were getting government subsidies for every installation they did.
Finally I flat out asked them whether it would make sense for them to install these panels if the government subsidies went away and they had to admit that this was the case.
They have a fiduciary responsibily to take advantage of every opportunity.
Fix the government instead of whining about certain companies seems to be the real fix.
/johnny
But, but Democrats / Liberals are so against corporate welfare!!
Musk realized that you can’t make a $30k electric that performed well enough to actually sell.
I believe he mentioned about $60k as the price of the engineering.
Realizing this they decided to add creature comforts and maximize performance within their sector. The result is an electric that competes not with the Ford Fiesta, but rather Cadillac and BMW.
It was a market decision based on the minimum cost of the core engineering.
The stories behind the decision to make their own batteries are equally interesting. Someone told him the performance he required was unavailable. So he decided to make it himself.
SpaceX has the potential to revolutionize modern space entry. He almost went bankrupt fighting through early failures.
As a business - any business - making best use of available tax credits, grants, etc. is the fiscally responsible thing to do...
I don’t have to be a fan of the person or their politics to sit back and appreciate radical gambles of engineering and all in economic risk.
That attitude... I can do it better and am willing to risk all to prove it ... is quintessentially American.
SolarCity is one of the best examples of tax break grubbing. The entire business model of SolarCity is gerrymandered to collect tax breaks and subsidies, not to provide value to their customers. They lease the solar panels to you, and in that way, they are the owners of the panels, and all the government benefits go to them, not the customer. There is very little benefit to being a SolarCity customer.
As for Tesla, it gets by on two big tax breaks. One is that California requires electric vehicle credits, which he sells to other car companies. The second is they get a tax break for offering a car that can be recharged in a few minutes, hence his "battery swap" show last year. The battery swapping will never actually be implemented, but that isn't required by the writers of the tax break.
SpaceX, however, is largely legit. SpaceX got some seed money early on, but no more than others that signed up for the program. SpaceX has grown because they legitimately have a better product.
ELECTRIC CARS ARE A GUBMINT / TREE HUGGER FOLLY / CRONY KICKBACK NIRVANA
musks cars will never repalce the internal combustion engine cars becuse they are a joke that the average person can not economically benefit from..... heard of cheap gas ??? the world is awash in oil....
IT TAKE A HEAVY HANDED GUVMINT HEADED BY A SHITFOR BRAINS commie muslim TRAITOR to support this crap...
“ELECTRIC CARS ARE A GUBMINT / TREE HUGGER FOLLY / CRONY KICKBACK NIRVANA”
Well, other than some wealthy folk enjoying near-silent luxury cars that outperform most of the top sports cars...
What do you think is the most common party affiliation for the Tesla P85D? You know, the 700 HP Tesla.
Sounds like someone doesn't care for the idea of a reduction of cost per pound to orbit, IOW, who's he working for with this piece of old news? Wait -- could it be something to do with wanting to NOT cover Billary's scandals? Thanks NormsRevenge.
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