Replies

"Based on what, exactly? We spend hundreds of billions on pork every year. The benefit is net negative to taxpayers."

We spend far more on "welfare" than on the small federal subsidies to business startups. Admittedly, some of that welfare "is" pork. But look at the huge expansion of the economy that has resulted from the relatively small subsidies that go to private companies.

"Just look at Shale oil & nat gas production - which has paid FAR, FAR more benefits than Tesla has - at zero cost to the USGOVT - in fact its generating a ton of taxes directly and indirectly - and has massively lowered the cost of energy across the country.

You think the oil and gas industry doesn't also get taxpayer-funded support?? Sorry, but wrong. A LOT of the research that went into shale was federally funded and done at Universities.

"Obviously you either work for Tesla or have a hard on for the guy."

Neither. IMO, even if "Tesla the company" eventually proves non-viable, its contributions to battery technology won't disappear, and will boost the economy far into the future.

And, IMO, history will remember Musk more for his SpaceX effort than for either PayPal or Tesla.

"Either way you are just a tool.

Nope....just a guy who follows science and tech after retiring from a successful career in industry.

If you are trying to argue that welfare is worse than business pork, you won't get a lot of argument from me. The only counter arguement, which I wouldn't agree with that much, is the "fairness" argument that the welfare people are poor while nearly all pork is going to VERY wealthy people.

The Oil and gas industry gets very little taxpayer funds. They do get things like accelerated depreciation (pushing out taxes), etc. The last leftist blog that linked to all the "subsidies" oil & etc got was over 95% simply depreciation and accelerated depreciation. Hardly unique and not really a subsidy - simply pushing out tax liabilities. In the last 3 years, Exxon mobile alone has paid $23 BILLION, net, in taxes. And that's just one company. TSLA paid 48 million in that time frame, likely all state and local tax fees and $0 federal, while receiving a direct federal subsidy of $5 billion in revenue, and arguably more as probably 75%+ of their sales would not have occurred without the subsidy.

Nope....just a guy who follows science and tech after retiring from a successful career in industry.

Like I was getting at, you are just another socialist with his hand in the cookie jar.