Elon Musk just became world's first TRILLIONAIRE.
- Thread starter Ross Dolan
- Start date
Fuck you asshole. You supported the assassination of your president so, fuck you!
How much of Musk’s wealth comes from government help? Virtually all of it
"Elon Musk has many people to thank for becoming the world’s first trillionaire — his companies’ engineers who produced technological breakthroughs, Wall Street investors who were eager to shower him with their dollars despite questionable financials, but most of all, American taxpayers and government policymakers.“There would not be (Tesla and SpaceX) if it weren’t for the government,” said Ross Gerber, CEO of investment firm Gerber Kawasaki and an early investor in Tesla. The federal government awarded SpaceX more than $500 million worth of grants in its early years. And that $500 million is just a fraction of what Tesla received from government grants, loans, contracts and regulatory policies.
That’s not to say SpaceX’s success and Tesla’s roughly $1.5 trillion valuation are entirely due to federal spending, but both companies teetered as startups before receiving taxpayer subsidies. The question of how much Musk’s $1 trillion net worth comes from the government is not as simple as it sounds. By some measures, only a small portion of his wealth is thanks to taxpayers. His companies have received “only” tens of billions from government contracts and programs.
... the support from NASA didn’t stop with the grants. Musk has acknowledged the company was almost out of cash at the end of 2008 when it got a critical, and then-unprecedented, $1.6 billion contract from the American space agency."
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/13/business/musk-trillionaire-government-tesla-spacex
Continued
FastLane
Verified User
Rich people put their money to work and that builds the economy. Musk employs over 160,000 people.
Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire on SpaceX’s First Day of Trading
Stock in Mr. Musk’s rocket and satellite maker closed just above $161, up more than 19 percent from its I.P.O. price.www.nytimes.com
And the wealth gap just got greater.
Currently the top 1% of families own one-third of the total wealth of our nation...and the top 10% of families own two-thirds of the total wealth of our nation.
The MAGA morons arguing for government to stay out of the issue must think that people like Trump will voluntarily stop trying to accumulate more of the wealth of the nation.
Gotta wonder what percentage of the total wealth will have to be owned by what percentage of the population before something is done to curb the dynamic.
My guess: The MAGA morons will say that the wealth will grow...and the problem is not a problem.
Fucking idiots.
So?
If he continues to get richer...and eventually employes 90% of all the people working...would that make it a healthy situation?
Would that be okay with you?
cawacko
Well-known member
Is your argument the government shouldn't give contracts to businesses to build things like rockets? And if the gov't did it all internally, it would be done better and cheaper and as a result the gov't would have more money to spend on housing and healthcare?
If that's the case, what's stopping the gov't from doing so?
signalmankenneth
Verified User
FastLane
Verified User
^^^^Strawman argument. If he continues to invest his money and continues to employ more families it is a good thing but you know he will never employ 90% of all people working. Do you object to Walmart too?
Not a strawman argument at all. Not even an argument. It was a question...one you avoided answering, I might note.
How the hell do you know what percentage of the people he will eventually be able to employ?
In our current system, he will be able to employ as many people as he wants...and is able to employ.
But, I will change my question to meet the problems you are having with it.
What percentage of the people employed would Musk have to be employing before you finally realized it is unhealthy for our system?...Or are you saying that there is no point at which you would realize the problem?
If Walmart got to the point where it was employing way too many people...I would object. So would any sane person.
Would that point ever come for you?
Yes, even though they have increased the hourly wage, for as profitable as they are, their benefits to workers still suck.
FastLane
Verified User
Oh really? Over 4000 SpaceX workers just became millionaires
AI Overview
Tesla offers comprehensive benefits for its employees, including day-one medical, dental, and vision coverage, stock options or RSUs, an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), generous paid time off (PTO), and 401(k) matching
FastLane
Verified User
Why aren't you worried about Walmart and the number of people that they employ?
If Musk is creating jobs and paying competitive wages and benefits I'm OK with him getting rich. He took a risk with his money and started businesses those businesses could have failed but under his direction they made money. I'm OK with that..
Grok:
The Washington Post) put cumulative support for Tesla, SpaceX, etc., at around $38 billion since ~2003 in contracts, loans, subsidies, tax credits, and incentives.
This includes early NASA contracts/grants for SpaceX (~$500M+ initially, with a pivotal ~$1.6B CRS contract in 2008), a $465M DOE loan for Tesla (repaid early with interest), state incentives, and regulatory credits (~$11.4B for Tesla from selling ZEV credits to other automakers).
Such articles as the one Christiecrite cherry-picked often frame success as "taxpayer-funded" to imply unearned or illegitimate wealth, downplaying private risk and competition.
Yet governments routinely use contracts/tax policy for priorities (defense, green tech), and Christiecrite has never criticized these.
$38B is meaningful (especially early on) but a small fraction of the trillions in combined enterprise value and private capital raised. Tesla alone has delivered huge returns to private investors; SpaceX has transformed launch economics. "Virtually all" is rhetoric, not math.
Musk's companies compete and deliver; critics rarely apply the same scrutiny to legacy firms or failed green subsidies elsewhere.
Musk has criticized EV credits (which are benefiting Tesla's rivals more) and pushes government efficiency.
Early aid was leveraged into outsized outcomes. SpaceX's efficiencies returned value to taxpayers via cheaper access to space. Tesla accelerated EV adoption (emissions, oil dependence). Net societal ROI appears strongly positive, unlike many pure subsidy cases.
Bottom line: Government played a role, as in many tech/defense successes (internet, GPS, etc.).
"Support" Is Not Free Money—It's Contracts for Services or Market Mechanisms
- SpaceX: The bulk of funding is government contracts for launches, cargo/crew to ISS, Starlink deployments, etc. (NASA/DoD).
- These are paid for delivered value—often at far lower cost than alternatives. SpaceX has reportedly saved the government tens of billions via reusable rockets vs. traditional providers.
- NASA contracts were competitive; SpaceX won by undercutting incumbents. Early support helped, but Starlink, reusable Falcon/Starship tech, and commercial revenue now dominate. NASA is a small % of SpaceX revenue today.
Elon Musk's wealth tracks companies that produced revolutionary products and value, not just received checks.
The "teetered as startups" phase is true for nearly every ambitious venture—success isn't guaranteed by subsidies. Check the histories of other subsidy/contract recipients.
cawacko
Well-known member
Ok? That doesn't answer the question though.
Should the government not give contracts to businesses to build things like rockets?
And if they shouldn't, what is stopping the gov't from doing it internally?
Grok:
Benefits Package: Solid, Not "Sucky"
- Comprehensive medical, dental, vision; life/disability insurance; parental leave; 401(k) (though matching is limited in some cases); on-site perks (food, gym discounts, transport); stock purchase plans.
- Glassdoor rates compensation & benefits ~3.8/5. Many reviews praise "incredible benefits," health coverage, and mission-driven perks. It's better than average for manufacturing/aerospace and competitive vs. legacy primes.