Elon Musk's companies benefit from federal spending
By: Rachel Barber
USA Today
..... Donald Trump's second administration is planning to act on the preseason-elect's campaign promise to end President Joe Biden's EV tax credit that has benefited Tesla.
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Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said members of Trump's transition team intend to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases as part of broader tax-reform legislation, Reuters reported Thursday. [11/14/2024] It's a policy that has benefited Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Trump's newly appointed head of the proposed "Department of Government Efficiency."
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Musk, a vocal Trump supporter and the world's richest person according to Forbes, has said that while keeling the subsidy could hurt Tesla, which is best known for selling electric vehicles, it would devastate its competitors in the United States. when pressed on why he backed a candidate who wanted to end a subsidy benefiting his company, Musk did not appear concerned.
..... "Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla," Musk wrote in a post on X as he campaigned and fundraised for Trump in July. [2024] "Also, remove subsidies from all industries!"
..... The week after Trump;s victory in the 2024 president election, he announced Musk and fellow billionaire Vivik Ramaswamy would lead a department with an evocative acronym to cut potentially trillions in government spending.
..... Musk defended his companies in a September [2024] public exchange on X when businessman Vinod Khosla question how much support they receive from the government,"
..... "SpaceX gets no subsides and received half as much as Boeing for astronaut transport, but did 100% of the work," Musk said. "as for Tesla, take a minute to read our public fillings and you will see that EV incentives represent a minor part of our revenue."
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Although Musk is now tasked with slashing federal spending, several of his companies are likely to continue to benefit form it, even if the EV tax credit is killed. Over the last 16 years, Musk's business deals with the government total nearly 420 billion, according to federal contracting data.
..... Tesla's Musk's automotive and energy company known for its pioneering electric vehicles and battery storage innovators, has received $41.9 million in federal contracts since 2008.
..... Nick Penzenstadler and Reuters contributed to this report.