The entreprenurial government takes risks, and once in a while succeeds so wildly that the company can pay off the loans quickly. "Tesla’s management knew that

The entreprenurial government takes risks, and once in a while succeeds so wildly that the company can pay off the loans quickly. "Tesla’s management knew that if they couldn’t get the government’s money at 3 or 4 percent interest, their next cheapest source of capital would cost 10 times more, a whopping 30 to 40 percent annually. [...] And if the government had wanted to bargain like a real venture capitalist, Tesla’s desperate need for cash gave the feds the power to demand options on half the company’s stock, or more." (http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/05/tesla_is_worse_than_solyndra_how_the_u_s_government_bungled_its_investment.html http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/05/tesl...) Important to deflate startup myths: corporate moochers love how government welfare "socializes the risks and privatizes the rewards." (http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/government-investment-innovation-by-mariana-mazzucato-2015-04 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/government-inves...)