jpadc
Well-known member
Well, in the hope that you are simply ill informed, rather than disingenuous, I'm not referring to the the $7500 car purchase program (another government program I'm not wild about as its a tax subsidy for the wealthy (even when Nissan gives it back to customer who lease a car, the company still gets the sale and the car is, as are most new cars, still too expensive for the majority), I'm referring to the now over $5 billion his companies have received in various government incentive programs. One can debate the value to society of that money (not for this thread) but not that the fact that Teslas are built with a great deal of tax dollars but the end product is something only the very rich can afford. Yes, most all companies get various federal subsidies, but they at least make some products /services that can be purchased/used by people outside the top 1% in incomes.SageBrush said:Your argument about federal dollars is disingenuous for two reasons:
1. The federal subsidy is through the car purchase program. It has nothing to do with chargers. Do you criticize Nissan for using that same subsidy but not installing destination chargers AT ALL ? The same goes for Toyota, Fiat, etc.
Funny, I thought EVs benefited everyone by their mere existence! (that comment was sarcastic in case that escaped you). Where I live there are no government provided charging stations (but some electric companies have put in some that no doubt were subsidized by some federal program) but I'm not sure what I would object to. I think its great when government monies (i.e., dollars collected from mostly middle and upper middle class income people) is used to help fund new technologies that benefit the public. A used LEAF is a relatively affordable (but very limited car) that would be made more useful to more people (especially people of modest means whom to date have been shut out of the EV market) with available low-cost public charging. In Indy, lots of my tax dollars went to fund an electric car short-term rental program which helps people get around the city without having to own a car. I could not be more thrilled to have my tax dollars used that way. I just object when the output of my tax dollars is to produce stuff exclusively for the top 1%. That's just redistribution from the those of more modest means to the the extremely wealthy. Call me crazy for objecting to that.SageBrush said:2. EVs are around 1% of car buyers. The other 99% do not benefit from the EVSEs at all but pay into the pot to set up public L2 charging stations. That does not bother you, does it ?
Disingenuous apologies are just that. Perhaps you could specify what you found so hypocritical (rather than it just being you objecting to someone holding a somewhat negative opinion of the Tesla motor company) that pushed you to a harshness against your nature.SageBrush said:Apologies for the harsh tone. Hypocrisy annoys me.