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Tesla Motors Repays $465M Government Loan 9 Years Early
Tesla Motors announced today it has completely repaid the $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy the company received in 2010. The funds were generated by Tesla through a recent sale of their stock, worth close to a billion dollars. The stock price had risen sharply after the company reported its first profitable quarter (and the stock still sits roughly 50% higher than before their earnings release). Today's payment of $451.8 million finished off both the loan's principal and its interest, nine years before the final payment was due. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, 'I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate. I hope we did you proud.'
Except for the cars that I have stolen, I factor in purchase price with operating costs when I determine whether I can afford to drive that vehicle.
I think this sends an excellent message to naysayers: Not all American startups with DOE loans end up like Solyndra.
In fact, of the 23 companies that received funding under the same program as Solyndra did, at least 19 of them are still in business - that's an 83% success rate. When you factor in the fact that these were all loans that the free-market was too risk averse to take on itself, that number is pretty fantastic. Most venture capital funds are lucky to have a 10% success rate.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
This is exactly what the horse and buggy industry said when the first cars came on the road. "Ha! Petrol! Where do they think they will get it, once on the road?" and "People already have horses - who's going to want to buy an automobile when the buggy is so much cheaper??"
In Australia, we call it Tall Poppy Syndrome where someone that is doing outstanding work is seen as a threat, a target and something to be cut back down to size. Though in this case, I would say that there is a hint of Schadenfreude thrown into the mix as well.
Basically, it's just sad and pathetic.
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Dealers are a huge lobby and major contributors in all states. This is a clear case of entrenched influence against the public interest, in opposition to individual rights.
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Early repayment penalties are illegal in most of the US.
The benefit of this kind of loan program is not in the interest earned, but in the fact that you get a successful company that creates jobs and pays taxes, which used to be considered a good thing. Having an additional player in a heavy industry also creates competition in a fairly consolidated sector, which also used to be considered a good thing.
These kind of government loans to business in the US go back to the 18th century, and were considered a very good idea until recently, when one of the two political parties lost its mind.
You are welcome on my lawn.
If local bookstores and video stores had the same amount of political clout as auto dealers then Amazon and NetFlix wouldn't be able to sell in those states either.
If electric cars take over the market, the demand for car maintenance will collapse. Thats a big chunk of the job market in some areas and there will have to be some adjustment.
We should all have such problems. Also if they find the cure for cancer, a lot of oncologists will be out of a job. It's still a big net win for society in either case.
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.