The Department of Energy (DOE) announced June 23 that Tesla was one of three recipients — with Ford and Nissan — of $8 billion in advanced technology loan funds. Tesla will get $465 million to build a manufacturing plant for the new ultra-fast Model S sedan in Southern California, and a second battery plant in the Bay Area.
"Tesla has announced that their business model has failed. Their basic idea was to sell a boutique electric car to fund the development of a regular consumer electric car. With this announcement they are saying that they did not sell enough of the Roadster to make producing it profitable. If that is the case, it is only a matter of time until Tesla closes its doors.
By contrast, the initial development of the Linux operating system is estimated to have a value of $600 million. Of course, no one spent 600 million, software engineers simply donated their time and efforts for free. The current version of Linux has 280 million lines of source code and has an estimated value of 7.6 billion dollars. In 2008, the revenue generated by Linux-related applications was generating something close to 40 billion dollars.
It is of course, not like anyone told the Obama administration and the Democrat Congress that their rhetoric surrounding 'investment' in green technologies was a fantasy. Not only is government investment in new technology unnecessary, but it has became a sure sign that the enterprise is doomed.
Good business models have no trouble attracting private capital, and stem cell research is proof of that concept. While embryonic stem cell research did initially attract private capital, it's early results discouraged further investment. Meanwhile, adult stem cell research continued to present positive developments and a profitable horizon. The various investments by state and federal governments into embryonic research have proven to be, or so will prove to be, total losses.
There is no such thing as government 'investment'. It is merely a new slip cover for the same old political looting of the taypayer.
