To: Wharf Rat who wrote (861567 ) 6/1/2015 6:45:40 PM From: Brumar89 Read Replies (1) | Respond to Elon Musk Rakes In $4.9bn In Subsidieshttp://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-20150531-story.html#page=1 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." 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. New York state is spending $750 million to build a solar panel factory in Buffalo for SolarCity. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company will lease the plant for $1 a year. It will not pay property taxes for a decade, which would otherwise total an estimated $260 million. The federal government also provides grants or tax credits to cover 30% of the cost of solar installations. SolarCity reported receiving $497.5 million in direct grants from the Treasury Department.That figure, however, doesn’t capture the full value of the government’s support. Since 2006, SolarCity has installed systems for 217,595 customers, according to a corporate filing. If each paid the current average price for a residential system — about $23,000, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists — the cost to the government would total about $1.5 billion, which would include the Treasury grants paid to SolarCity. Nevada has agreed to provide Tesla with $1.3 billion in incentives to help build a massive battery factory near Reno. The Palo Alto company has also collected more than $517 million from competing automakers by selling environmental credits. In a regulatory system pioneered by California and adopted by nine other states, automakers must buy the credits if they fail to sell enough zero-emissions cars to meet mandates. The tally also includes some federal environmental credits. Musk laid out a vision of affordable clean energy in the remote villages of underdeveloped countries and homeowners in industrial nations severing themselves from utility grids. The Nevada factory will churn out the batteries alongside those for Tesla cars. What he didn’t say: Tesla has already secured a commitment of $126 million in California subsidies to companies developing energy storage technology .TESLA MOTORS: $2.391 billion total SOLARCITY: $2.516 billion total SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES: $20 million total http://www.latimes.com/local/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-box-20150530-story.html https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/elon-musk-rakes-in-4-9bn-in-subsidies/#more-15015
