Elon Musk’s Clone Secures $17 Million in Federal Grants Amidst Impending Layoffs
Tesla is firing everyone who works on new vehicle teams and Supercharger. At this point, no one has any idea what CEO Elon Musk was thinking or what will happen in the future, including others. Could Musk be looking to exit the charging game? If so, it must be a recent development because Tesla is also the largest beneficiary of federal grants for electric vehicle charging under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Tesla reportedly won nearly 13 percent of all electric vehicle charging grants awarded so far, totaling over $17 million. Considering that Tesla’s Supercharger network is currently the best in the country, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. With the agreements Tesla has made to allow non-Teslas to use Superchargers, we’re almost surprised the figure isn’t higher. There are many things Tesla does wrong, but its charging network is definitely not one of them.
On the other hand, maybe Tesla didn’t receive more grants to avoid the appearance of the federal government lining Tesla’s pockets or creating a state-funded monopoly. As Politico points out, it’s unlikely that 13 percent of all grants awarded would trigger antitrust claims.
Tesla not only has an advantage due to its existing network but also proposes larger charging centers than most of its competitors, built for much less money. The $17 million granted to Tesla was for 41 charging stations, while Francis Energy, based in Oklahoma, reportedly needed $30.4 million to build 37 stations.
The irony, of course, is that while Tesla is more than happy to accept federal money, its CEO has spent months tweeting about how Biden is ruining the country and engaging in the Great Replacement Theory, an incredibly racist far-right conspiracy claiming immigrants will wipe out the white race.
If Musk had principles, one would think he would have refused money from the wet sock puppet, but we all know Musk has no principles beyond doing whatever he wants at any given time. However, the most puzzling decision is Musk’s choice to fire the entire Supercharger team. Tesla was in an incredible position to continue receiving more grants, clearly had an interest in expanding the Supercharger network, and now, what? Resign?
Perhaps Musk plans to hire a new Supercharger team. Perhaps Tesla simply plans to let the Superchargers lie fallow. Perhaps there’s something missing here, but if you’re confused, you’re far from alone.
