WSJ has a target on Elon Musk's back. Every week they post something negative about him or his companies. I have a couple of conservative friends who have an irrational hatred for Elon. They rail how everything Elon Musk does is a "scam". The WSJ comments are a reflection of that mindset. More broadly, I wonder why WSJ and some conservatives set a target on Elon. There are literally a gazillion subsidies, tax credits, offshore accounting going around. For example, Hollywood shoots their movies wherever they get tax credits. Texas has attracted large back office operations using tax credits. Data center locations are chosen based upon which state government throws in the most benefits. It seems odd that they would spent so much energy on Musk, whose subsidies are probably a rounding error. It makes me wonder if there are bigger things at stake. Are the WSJ overlords really scared that he is making material changes to energy and transportation that could hurt them ?
Man, comments on that article are certainly ugly. I wonder why subsidies for Solar/EVs are viewed so negatively while ones for farming/oil/etc are almost ignored.
In general, a responsible CEO should utilize any legally defensible opportunities to operate the company profitably.<p>By subsidizing Tesla, the Federal Government is effectively investing in it. Tesla then utilizes tax concessions from Nevada to reduce the cost of building and operating the gigafactory. So in a sense, Tesla is spending the money invested by the Federal Government wisely.<p>If voters are not happy about the subsidy strategies of the government in general, they should be aiming their ire at their political representatives, not the companies that benefit from the subsidies.
Is there an ELI5 version of this somewhere ? I understand some part of it but as a non-native english reader and not-so-financial guy it makes it hard to grasp it all.
>The financial transactions have raised questions on Capitol Hill, where some lawmakers are concerned that money from federal contracts with SpaceX could be used to help SolarCity.<p>Do these people not understand that money is fungible? It's like pouring two glasses of water into a pitcher and then trying to separate them again.
I understand when he puts his money where his mouth is, but is it ok for him to fund one company with another when they're in different businesses and he's not the only shareholder?<p>I don't know all the details, but it seems a little strange.
> He has had a string of triumphs lately... Tesla shares are up 77% since Feb. 10.<p>Seems a bit disingenuous to cite a stock price recovery without mentioning its preceding collapse. (they do have a more balanced chart later on in the article)