4 ms·

SpaceX is subsidised (and so is Tesla) and automotive industry was already in the process of electrifying. Tesla just put pressure to speed it up. Haven't check

by ldng 4y ago

SpaceX is subsidised (and so is Tesla) and automotive industry was already in the process of electrifying. Tesla just put pressure to speed it up. Haven't checked but it would not surprises me if Formula E predated Tesla.

kortilla 4y ago
> SpaceX is subsidised Winning government contracts over other competitors is not the same thing as “subsidized”. Otherwise Hilton is subsidized because government employees stay there sometimes.
- rpeden 4y ago
  I get the impression that some government contracts are used as stealth subsidies. And SpaceX, Tesla, and Starlink have benefited from plenty of actual subsidies, too. To be clear, I'm not implying that's a bad thing. These companies seem like an example of subsidies working as intended, i.e. driving innovation.
  - kortilla 4y ago
    Can you give specific examples? Diluting the meaning down to “the government is also one of this company’s customers” just makes it meaningless. That will cover nearly every large company.
nikau 4y ago
not to mention toyota did batteries and electric motors in the prius well before tesla and way more reliably and in higher volumes.
- snovv_crash 4y ago
  And yet somehow they never made 100% electric cars, and also no hybrid cars that were desirable outside of the eco-hippy niche.
  - nikau 4y ago
    Sales data says otherwise: In January 2020, Toyota passed the milestone of more than 15 million self-charging hybrid vehicles If every vehicle sold by Tesla since its inception up to the most recent Tesla sales figures released for Q1 of 2022 are accounted for, there are over 2,645,000 Teslas on the road worldwide
    - snovv_crash 4y ago
      Sure, cheap hybrids. Nobody is buying them because it's their dream car though, it is just affordable and cheap to run. Tesla makes cars that are desirable.

4 ms·

SpaceX is subsidised (and so is Tesla) and automotive industry was already in the process of electrifying. Tesla just put pressure to speed it up. Haven't check

by ldng 4y ago

kortilla 4y ago
> SpaceX is subsidised Winning government contracts over other competitors is not the same thing as “subsidized”. Otherwise Hilton is subsidized because government employees stay there sometimes.
- rpeden 4y ago
  I get the impression that some government contracts are used as stealth subsidies. And SpaceX, Tesla, and Starlink have benefited from plenty of actual subsidies, too. To be clear, I'm not implying that's a bad thing. These companies seem like an example of subsidies working as intended, i.e. driving innovation.
  - kortilla 4y ago
    Can you give specific examples? Diluting the meaning down to “the government is also one of this company’s customers” just makes it meaningless. That will cover nearly every large company.
nikau 4y ago
not to mention toyota did batteries and electric motors in the prius well before tesla and way more reliably and in higher volumes.
- snovv_crash 4y ago
  And yet somehow they never made 100% electric cars, and also no hybrid cars that were desirable outside of the eco-hippy niche.
  - nikau 4y ago
    Sales data says otherwise: In January 2020, Toyota passed the milestone of more than 15 million self-charging hybrid vehicles If every vehicle sold by Tesla since its inception up to the most recent Tesla sales figures released for Q1 of 2022 are accounted for, there are over 2,645,000 Teslas on the road worldwide
    - snovv_crash 4y ago
      Sure, cheap hybrids. Nobody is buying them because it's their dream car though, it is just affordable and cheap to run. Tesla makes cars that are desirable.