Tesla pays back $465m DOE loan
#16
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As I noted in my earlier post in this thread, I'm glad that the taxpayers got their money back. That doesn't mean that the loan was a good idea.
#18
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#19
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Focusing on interest repayment also ignores the big picture - that many of the DoE green program loans have failed. Just because Tesla managed to pay back loans doesn't mean that the green program loans were a good idea. Anyone can go to Vegas right now and hit the tables and happen to win money. The mere outcome of a given person winning money doesn't make the decision to gamble a good idea.
As I said, I'm just really glad the taxpayers got their money back. Tesla doesn't make money selling its cars (double-digit negative % operating margin), so it's best that the taxpayers are free of this risk and the bad decisions of legislators.
I agree that it often works to look at economics simply, but sometimes the issues are much more complex.
#20
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But that interest rate is way lower than typical loans. I was just reading an article the other day that mentioned that some of Tesla's DoE loans were even under 1%, just like many of the other DoE advanced tech loans. Funny that happens when US Treasury 10yr bonds are yielding 3.3% when Tesla got its guaranteed $465 million back in 2010. The interest paid is a tiny fraction of the fair market value of loaning out that money.
Focusing on interest repayment also ignores the big picture - that many of the DoE green program loans have failed. Just because Tesla managed to pay back loans doesn't mean that the green program loans were a good idea. Anyone can go to Vegas right now and hit the tables and happen to win money. The mere outcome of a given person winning money doesn't make the decision to gamble a good idea.
As I said, I'm just really glad the taxpayers got their money back. Tesla doesn't make money selling its cars (double-digit negative % operating margin), so it's best that the taxpayers are free of this risk and the bad decisions of legislators.
I agree that it often works to look at economics simply, but sometimes the issues are much more complex.
Focusing on interest repayment also ignores the big picture - that many of the DoE green program loans have failed. Just because Tesla managed to pay back loans doesn't mean that the green program loans were a good idea. Anyone can go to Vegas right now and hit the tables and happen to win money. The mere outcome of a given person winning money doesn't make the decision to gamble a good idea.
As I said, I'm just really glad the taxpayers got their money back. Tesla doesn't make money selling its cars (double-digit negative % operating margin), so it's best that the taxpayers are free of this risk and the bad decisions of legislators.
I agree that it often works to look at economics simply, but sometimes the issues are much more complex.
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