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> Musk’s other companies have benefited from corporate welfare schemes too. In 2015, the LA Times reckoned Musk’s companies had benefited from almost $5bn in go

> Musk’s other companies have benefited from corporate welfare schemes too. In 2015, the LA Times reckoned Musk’s companies had benefited from almost $5bn in government support. That includes SpaceX, which just landed a $2.89bn contract with Nasa and a $653m air force contract, both in 2021... I think we should judge recipients of government subsidies by whether they leverage them into genuine technological advances, or simply treat them as a teat to suck upon. Judged by that standard, SpaceX has done much better than its "OldSpace" competitors such as Boeing or ULA, who have received significantly greater subsidies yet achieved a lot less with them. But proponents of the "SpaceX government subsidies" narrative – present article included – rarely seem to consider the issue from that angle. And Musk is hardly the only CEO saying "we view the coming recession as more of a business opportunity than a threat, even as economically beneficial in the long-term". That way of viewing recessions – assuming a business is in overall good health – is commonly taught at business schools. But Musk is a controversial celebrity, so when he says it – instant controversy-brewing clickbait – when some other CEO of whom few have heard says the same thing, I doubt The Guardian would cover it.

WalterGR 4y ago
> But Musk is a controversial celebrity, so when he says it – instant controversy-brewing clickbait – when some other CEO of whom few have heard says the same thing, I doubt The Guardian would cover it. That’s how the world works. How much of a Twitter following do the CEOs of ULA and Boeing have? Do their C-suites have legions of followers who will spring to their defense when they don’t care for the tone of a news article? Boeing has a market cap 10% of Tesla’s. How do ULA and other companies compare? Are their CEOs the richest person in the world? Have any CEOs even said something similar?

WalterGR 4y ago

> But Musk is a controversial celebrity, so when he says it – instant controversy-brewing clickbait – when some other CEO of whom few have heard says the same thing, I doubt The Guardian would cover it. That’s how the world works. How much of a Twitter following do the CEOs of ULA and Boeing have? Do their C-suites have legions of followers who will spring to their defense when they don’t care for the tone of a news article? Boeing has a market cap 10% of Tesla’s. How do ULA and other companies compare? Are their CEOs the richest person in the world? Have any CEOs even said something similar?