Elon Musk may promote the idea of lone-wolf entrepreneurship and competition-inherent capitalism, but his business empire has been built largely with government money. It's estimated that his various companies have received almost $5 billion from taxpayers.
This figure includes government grants, factory-construction subsidies, environmental credits, and discounted loans. But the government does more than that for Musk: it gives incentives (rebates and tax credits) to consumers to buy his wares. And while Tesla Motors still reports losses, Jerry Hirsch writing for the Los Angeles Times points out that, “Musk and his companies' investors enjoy most of the financial upside of the government support, while taxpayers shoulder the cost.”
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Tesla has been working with well-connected Washington lobbyists for more than a decade. And its former lead negotiator, Diarmuid O'Connell, a former State Department official, was able to garner Tesla $195 million in transferable Nevada tax credits that the company could then sell for cash. In return, Tesla promised to build its battery factory there.
Tesla has also been promised $126 in subsidies from California for its promise to develop energy storage technology.
Of special note on the venn is Tesla lobbyist Jason Tai who worked as Representative Daniel Lipinski's chief of staff. Lipinski is a member of the House Transportation Committee and was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying, in reference to self-driving cars: “I love this stuff.” That makes his former chief of staff a valuable lobbying commodity to a company like Tesla.
Note two Shadow Ties not included on the venn: Board Member James Murdoch (son of Rupert) is married to Kathryn Hufschmid Murdoch, who works for the Clinton Climate Initiative, a foundation of former President Bill Clinton. Additionally, Board Member Antonio Gracias was appointed a Presidential Ambassador for the Global Entrepreneurship Program, a State Department initiative.
