The name Tesla brought faint memories of government subsidies. So I went ahunting

This article from the LATimes lists government subsidies for Tesla:

Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9 billion in government subsidies
By Jerry Hirsch
May 30, 2015 | 8:00 AM

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.

A looming question is whether the companies are moving toward self-sufficiency — as Dolev believes — and whether they can slash development costs before the public largesse ends.

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.

The payoff for the public would come in the form of major pollution reductions, but only if solar panels and electric cars break through as viable mass-market products. For now, both remain niche products for mostly well-heeled customers.

Musk declined repeated requests for an interview through Tesla spokespeople, and officials at all three companies declined to comment.

The subsidies have generally been disclosed in public records and company filings. But the full scope of the public assistance hasn't been tallied because it has been granted over time from different levels of government.

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy...0531-story.html



Crony Capitalist Refutes this figure in the following article. Note not because the tax payer money ought not be used to subsidize a private company, or that one company ought not subsidize another, but because technically some of the 'subsidies' were in the form of tax breaks, and the 'sale of regulatory credits subsidized by other car manufacturers'.

Complete breakdown of the $4.9 billion in government support the LA Times claims Elon Musk’s companies are receiving
Fred Lambert
- Jun. 2nd 2015 9:53 am ET

The LA Times published an article over the weekend titled “Elon Musk’s growing empire is fueled by government subsidies”. The publication compiled data from government programs and estimated that Tesla Motors, SolarCity and SpaceX, three companies Musk is involved in, have benefited from “$4.9 billion in government support”. Saturday, I wrote an opinion piece about how I thought the article is grossly one-sided. Since then, the LA Times released a breakdown of the $4.9 billion figure.

Here is the complete breakdown with my comments on each government incentive and information that wasn’t included or simply glanced over in the LA Times article:
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https://electrek.co/2015/06/02/complete-...-are-receiving/