Live by the subsidy, die by the subsidy.
Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9B in government subsidies
11–18 of 18 posts
Re: Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9B in government subsidies
#12A two year old bs hit piece that's been repeatedly debunked gets resurfaced on hn after two years...why am I not surprised
It might help alter people's viewpoints more efffectively if you linked to debunking.
Probably the most effective way to debunk these types of stories is to point out the hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies we've put into fossil-fuel energy over the years. A few billion more or less for Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity hardly seems worth complaining about in comparison.
It's been argued that most of the US defense budget is a "subsidy" of our appetite for oil. I usually find such arguments facile, but in that particular instance, I'll be darned if I can come up with any good rejoinders.
Re: Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9B in government subsidies
#13Wasn't that the point of the subsidies? To foster innovation, and kickstart green energy / transportation? Sounds like it's working....
I concur. The whole point is for the government to steer a market and that is what is happening and we are getting results!
The opimistic takeaway might be; "Government pushes market in right direction." :P
Re: Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9B in government subsidies
#14Wow. Hold on. I need to find a piece of furniture to lean up against, I'm in such shock. Musk speaks out against Trump and then this banal piece about public subsidies reappears? Yeah. It's just such shocking timing I'm going to need to lie down.
As others have already noted, this was written before the election (2015).
Re: Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9B in government subsidies
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
It might help alter people's viewpoints more efffectively if you linked to debunking.
Probably the most effective way to debunk these types of stories is to point out the hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies we've put into fossil-fuel energy over the years. A few billion more or less for Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity hardly seems worth complaining about in comparison. It's been argued that most of the US defense budget is a "subsidy" of our appetite for oil. I usually find such arguments facile…
Reminds me of people who complain about the cost of 1-mile of lightrail but don't know the cost of 1-mile of freeway.
Re: Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9B in government subsidies
#16Wow. Hold on. I need to find a piece of furniture to lean up against, I'm in such shock. Musk speaks out against Trump and then this banal piece about public subsidies reappears? Yeah. It's just such shocking timing I'm going to need to lie down.
As others have already noted, this was written before the election (2015).
I did say "re".
Re: Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9B in government subsidies
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably the most effective way to debunk these types of stories is to point out the hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies we've put into fossil-fuel energy over the years. A few billion more or less for Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity hardly seems worth complaining about in comparison. It's been argued that most of the US defense budget is a "subsidy" of our appetite for oil. I usually find such arguments facile…
Reminds me of people who complain about the cost of 1-mile of lightrail but don't know the cost of 1-mile of freeway.
I'd probably be guilty of that one myself. Energy can be converted from one form to another when/where needed, and wheeled vehicles can go wherever there's a road, but fixed rail is stuck in one place forever. A rant for a different thread...
Re: Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9B in government subsidies
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reminds me of people who complain about the cost of 1-mile of lightrail but don't know the cost of 1-mile of freeway.
I'd probably be guilty of that one myself. Energy can be converted from one form to another when/where needed, and wheeled vehicles can go wherever there's a road, but fixed rail is stuck in one place forever. A rant for a different thread...
Wheeled vehicles can go wherever we build roads... each road costs the taxpayer X / mile / year ... if we knew these costs we could make some rational decisions. The basic urbanism thesis posited by Charles Marohn and others, which I subscribe to, is that suburbs are not dense enough to maintain themselves (maintain roads, sewer, etc.) with the tax base