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| Elon 'Puff' Musk |
In no small part because government doesn't pick winners and losers – it picks losers at the expense of winners.
Government takes money from winners – people who have good ideas, implement them well, make money…and pay taxes.
And gives it to losers – people with bad ideas, implement them badly…and lose money. They need the government money – because they don't generate any of their own.
A good idea – doesn't need government money. No one needs to subsidize ice cream.
The King of All Government Money Recipients – is Elon Musk.
Elon Musk's Growing Empire Is Fueled by $4.9 Billion in Government Subsidies
That was written – in May 2015. More than years ago. That massive $5 billion tally – is unquestionably MUCH bigger now.
Musk is way in on the fake energy scam. Fake energy being wind, solar, ethanol and the like.
Also known as "green energy" – which is ironic, given these "energy" "sources" are neither green nor energy. They are all worse for the environment than the actual energy sources (oil, gas, coal) they seek to replace – and they cost exponentially more per unit of energy generated.
Because fake energies are a terrible idea – they require and receive LOTS of government money. Over the decades – hundreds of billions of government dollars. With no demonstrable improvement in any of the fake energy sources in being either green or energy.
But please, government – don't let that stop you.
Musk saw the massive government money being continuously poured out – and dug his snout into the trough.
Musk owns Solar City – a black hole solar panel company. Which isn't just a fake energy company receiving tons of government dollars – it is a corrupt fake energy company receiving tons of government dollars.
And Musk merged Solar City with his Tesla – an electric car company. Which also receives tons of government dollars – both at the back end and at the point of sale. Not mentioned: You need massive amounts of actual energy sources – mostly coal – to make electric cars go.
And those are just Musk's government handouts. Musk is also a government contractor – via his company SpaceX. With which Musk has again and again failed to meet the expectations he himself set for himself. And has often done so – in spectacular fashion.
SpaceX : A History of Fiery Failures
Incredible SpaceX Fail Compilation Shows All the Best Falcon 9 Crashes
A Highly Classified US Spy Satellite Is Missing After a SpaceX Mission Failure
SpaceX Rocket Explodes During Cargo Launch to Space Station
We could list links like this for…quite a while. But you get the idea.
Musk's SpaceX has for years and years been basically the sole recipient of space launch government contracts. Despite this nigh endless avalanche of failure.
It's as if government has a crush on Musk. Well, I hope government finds increasingly weird attractive – because Musk is behaving in an increasingly weird fashion.
Tesla Suspends Share-Trading after Elon Musk Tweets He Wants to Take the Carmaker Private
Whoa – hold it right there. Trading only stops when something horrible happens – or someone has done something heinously wrong:
"Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Aug. 7 that he is considering taking the company private at $420 per share, sending the company's stock skyrocketing."
Musk's Tweet – instantaneously, massively inflated the stock. Which is why you aren't supposed to randomly make such pronouncements:
"Musk, an erratic micromanager infamous for his explosive leadership style, decided to announce the plan with his signature brand of chaos: via a nine-word Twitter message, fired off in the middle of the trading day and hours before his company officially announced the plan.
"'What chaos,' said Teresa Goody, a former Securities and Exchange Commission official who now advises companies on securities law and corporate governance. 'It is not reasonable to expect investors to monitor and keep track of Elon Musk's tweets.'
"Musk said he had secured funding to take the company private at $420 a share, far above its pre-tweet price of $355, in a deal that could value the company at more than $70 billion.
So of course the stock rapidly inflated from $355 to $420 – to match Musk's number. Which certainly looks a lot like stock manipulation – at least to my untrained eyes. Did Musk have the privatize money he claimed?:
"(M)any questions remained, including where Musk would get all the money he needed to fund the deal. Neither he nor the company provided any details about financing, leading skeptics to question the viability of Musk's master plan."
It appears he did not have the money. And it wasn't just me wondering – the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also curious.
SEC Is Probing Musk's 'Going Private' Tweet To Determine If He Lied
SEC Sends Subpoena to Tesla in Probe Over Musk Tweets
And then…there was Musk's recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Elon Musk Was Filmed Smoking Weed Just Weeks After Saying Marijuana Kills Productivity
Host Rogan – seemed to understand the situation far better than did Musk:
"Rogan suggested Musk probably couldn't smoke 'because of stockholders, right?'"
But that didn't stop Musk. And it turns out – Rogan was right.
Tesla Shares Plunge SIX PERCENT- Wiping $3.1BILLION off the Company Value – after Elon Musk's Wild Pot-Smoking, Whiskey-Drinking Rambling Podcast and Company's Top Accountant Quits
So Rogan seems to be more in tune with Musk's businesses – than is Musk.
But there's more to it than just all that. Behold the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR):
"The FAR System governs the 'acquisition process' by which executive agencies of the United States federal government acquire (i.e., purchase or lease) goods and services by contract with appropriated funds….
"The FAR System regulates the activities of government personnel in carrying out that process.
"Among its guiding principles is to have an acquisition system that satisfies customer's needs in terms of cost, quality, and timeliness; minimize administrative operating costs; conduct business with integrity, fairness, and openness; and fulfill other public policy objectives."
And even more Musk-specific – FAR mandates the government:
"Not award 'a contract of any dollar value unless that individual agrees not to engage in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance while performing the contract.'"
And: "Ensure all of its contractors '[make] a good faith effort to maintain a drug-free workplace…'
It sounds to me like Musk's spliff-ing – and his increasingly erratic behavior generally – might trigger some FAR-inspired (re)action on the part of the government officials who have insisted on repeatedly hiring him. Lo and behold….
The Air Force Is Determining 'The Appropriate Process' for Elon Musk Smoking Pot:
"After a full day of the internet intimately dissecting Elon Musk's pot use, reports began to surface that the US Air Force has opened an investigation into the Tesla and SpaceX CEO's drug habit, since SpaceX is a government launch provider….
"SpaceX launches satellites for the US Air Force after all, and the use of marijuana is prohibited for those in the military and people with government security clearances."
Musk's self-invalidation seems…fairly cut and dry.
There is VIDEO of him violating the prohibition.
And even without the VIDEO – we have an increasing litany of very bizarre (and periodically, potentially illegal) Musk behavior.
The government should absolutely reconsider its ceaseless dumping of our money into Musk's wallet.
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Seton Motley is the President of Less Government and he contributes to ARRA News Service. Please feel free to follow him him on Twitter / Facebook.
Tags: Seton Motley, Less Government, Elon Musk, Increasingly Bizarre Behavior, Makes Him, An Even Worse Bet To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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