I feel like elon musk is profiting from our subsidies

[b*saint]

Is there a place I can find out how much he's getting from government programs? All our DOD customers, its published how much money they get from the government.

[BraveUlysses]

are you referring to spacex?

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000029147

you can google 'dod spacex contract' and find info about the GPS satellite that spacex won a contract to put into orbit.

[mrsleeve]

SPACEX seems to be better a blowing things up on the launch pad than anything. That said OF COURSE hes profiting off govt subsidies

[Wschnitz]

SPACEX seems to be better a blowing things up on the launch pad than anything. That said OF COURSE hes profiting off govt subsidies

Lmao

Does someone need to look at how NASA also blew up a lot of shit too?

What company doesnt take advantage of government subsidies? Its common sense. Until they fix it or become less lenient on handouts for everything it will continue.

[b*saint]

No guys, he owns Solar City. Im wondering how much hes getting from our alternative energy subsidies.

[mrsleeve]

So did z germans, and z russians. While its not easy to build a orbit capable heavy lift rocket, the process has been fairly well pioneered and established and there are plenty of people available for hire that have the expertise (I am sure more than a few have been in the employ of mr musk). Yes blowing up a rocket or 2 is going happen, but seems like Space X is trying to reinvent the wheel here, and have glorious BOOMS and fireworks displays than successful tests or launches in general. I suppose this is what happens when you want precision aerospace rocket parts, but only willing to pay form them to be built at FORD automotive quality levels, due to keeping a profit margin.. Free enterprise is a great thing and Space-X in general is a good idea, that said they need to be charging more for their services so they can afford pay for quality parts and employees with the proper experience and expertise to get shit into the air not vaporize it on the launch pad.

I am sure solar city is and the 0 admins subsidization of it, is putting a fair amount of scrip in mr Musks wallet

[cale]

Every nation that has made it to space has a history rife with failure, NASA still has catastrophic failures. To suggest the practice of launching rockets is a fool proof science is ludicrous, there's a reason why everyone who goes to space now does so on a 50 year old Soviet designed rocket. Pioneering new technology is costly and results in failures, creating technology that is cost effective is even more difficult. If the technology was as solid as you suggest it is, we wouldn't be using half-century old Soviet technology.

[gwb72tii]

tax incentives are a huge reason he sells any of his cars.
I'm in Norway and there are Teslas all over the place. Tesla owners are charged only a 7.5% vat here vs the regular car of 25%. Pls the annual charge for owning a Tesla is less.

[decay]

tax incentives are a huge reason he sells any of his cars.
I'm in Norway and there are Teslas all over the place. Tesla owners are charged only a 7.5% vat here vs the regular car of 25%. Pls the annual charge for owning a Tesla is less.

well that sounds like a great deal for a conservative who doesn't mind driving a tesla... less sales tax and less registration fees? i may have a liberal slant but shit, i want in on that too.

given that tax rebates like this don't actually allocate money that came from anyone else's pocket- they just mean the buyer's bill is lower at purchase and once annually- do you actually have an objection to this?

[mrsleeve]

It gives those manufacturers an unfair pricing/cost of ownership advantage over its conventional competition, and allows the govt to "pick winners and losers" and attempt to sway the customers decision to purchase something, or influence behavior via the tax code. If it cant stand in the market place, and attract enough customers to stand on its own, then............... I think you can figure it out the way it should be, rather than survive on the backs of the rest of the tax paying entities.

Inactivation with in the tax code is something that is has been being used across the board for a long time, to incentives behavior ( buy homes on long credit notes, attract a new employer to a locality, buy one product over another) Just because it happens does not make it right, and frankly I dont like govt penalizing the rest of us because our needs/lifestyle/Pocketbook dont support the purchase of the incentivized product. Life is not fair, but its not the govt's job to decide who its "more fair too" its job is to help ensure everyone has equal opertunity....

So much for free markets....... But then again we all knew this already.

[Wschnitz]

You know, or they are trying to force other companies hands into making E cars for the modern era, Tesla isn't the only car company with electrics you know, the other companies are just not taking the future seriously.

[BraveUlysses]

You know, or they are trying to force other companies hands into making E cars for the modern era, Tesla isn't the only car company with electrics you know, the other companies are just not taking the future seriously.

not to mention that the tax benefits in norway are probably for any electric car, but tesla is the market leader so they're picking up the lions share of sales.

[decay]

Just because it happens does not make it right, and frankly I dont like govt penalizing the rest of us because our needs/lifestyle/Pocketbook dont support the purchase of the incentivized product.

you're not being penalized.
you get the same deal you've always gotten, unless you go buy the shiny new thing.
you don't like the shiny new thing? fine, nobody's making you buy it, stick with the deal you have.
that's not a "penalty".

[mrsleeve]

You know, or they are trying to force other companies hands into making E cars for the modern era, Tesla isn't the only car company with electrics you know, the other companies are just not taking the future seriously.

Its not the govts job to force things into the marketplace. When or if there is a need for innovation it will happen, the market will more less demand it, some one will see this and capitalize on it. Forcing it to happen via arbitrary regulation pulled from some bureaucrats anal cavity, with little consideration to common sense, or the laws of physics becuase they sound good. Or via the tax code does not make things happen, other than by the most expensive, inefficient cumbersome way possible. Yes I know there are other full E cars on the market.

you're not being penalized.
you get the same deal you've always gotten, unless you go buy the shiny new thing.
you don't like the shiny new thing? fine, nobody's making you buy it, stick with the deal you have.
that's not a "penalty".

You see the govt via the tax code is trying to incentivize the consumer to the buy one product over the other, by making it "cheaper" to acquire and utilize than its non preferred competitors. There by create a artificial market for the item, once the subsidies are taken away or expire the market will dry up.

What if I need a shiny new thing, and cant afford the preferred one? In the sense of cars the shiny new thing does not fit my capacity needs, or travel needs??? Yes I am being penalized because there is not incentivized option to meet my needs in the market place.

[decay]

No, you are NOT being penalized. You are not being charged any money, and the government is not obligated to come up with some tax rebate that's perfectly tailored to your unique life situation just because there isn't an electric vehicle that suits your needs.

If you can't afford the vehicle you want... get out there and earn more money!

Why the fuck am I having to talk to you like *i'm* the conservative here?