The department of energy routinely gives low-interest loans to interesting energy startups because there's a compelling national interest in renewable energy.
So, yeah, we're on the hook for 500m. But we just spent a trillion in Iraq. And when we hit peak oil and hit a point of total supply inelasticity for energy, we're really gonna be up a creek.
There are literally thousands of companies that get these loans. I invested in one called Beacon Power, they build electrical grid stabilizers based on flywheels -- suck in excess power during supply peaks, then spit it back out if everyone turns on their AC units at once. Great idea. Helps the whole economy if they succeed, not just them. So the dept of energy took the long view and threw them a few million dollars as a loan.
All in all, this stuff adds up to way less than 1% of domestic federal spending -- which itself is less than 1/6 of the total federal budget. If a few of them pan out and we reduce our dependence on foreign oil, then it's a win.
There is a huge difference between government funding for basic research, and government funding to bring a privately owned product to market.
Even worse, since Daimler is a Tesla shareholder, U.S. taxpayers are underwriting tech that is partially owned by a foreign competitor.