I had posted before about Teslagate and a web site outlining the deceit behind Tesla's marketing and financials.
Now this from Jerry Hirsch writing at the Los Angeles Times:
Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9 billion in government subsidies
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."
And a bit more:
Tesla and SolarCity continue to report net losses after a decade in business, but the stocks of both companies have soared on their potential; Musk's stake in the firms alone is worth about $10 billion. (SpaceX, a private company, does not publicly report financial performance.)
Musk and his companies' investors enjoy most of the financial upside of the government support, while taxpayers shoulder the cost.
And this:
Musk declined repeated requests for an interview through Tesla spokespeople, and officials at all three companies declined to comment.
I can see why - this is almost a Ponzi scam, using subsidies (our tax dollars) to fund putting the cars in people's hands - the cars are being sold at a loss...
Much more at the site. There is some ground-breaking development going on here but the cost is being borne by us and we will probably not get to enjoy the results unless we by a souvenir of their technology at their bankruptcy auction. Solyndra had some nice swag going for pennies on the dollar...
