A Dangerous Road for the EV Market and Its Investors

Andy Snyder|February 16, 2023

Ol’ Elon is getting rich again.

The man who – shh… don’t tell anybody – made much of his fortune thanks to free handouts from the government has done it again.

The Tesla boss strolled into the White House last month… and walked away with one of the biggest subsidies in EV history.

Tesla shareholders should rejoice.

We’ve long said that Tesla isn’t a car company. It’s a carbon credit company. Until very recently, it didn’t make a dime in profits by actually selling cars. It made its money selling the credits Uncle Sam gives it each time one of its cars rolls off the assembly line.

It’s as anti-capitalist as it gets.

But now… it’s gotten worse.

Thanks to Musk’s latest taxpayer-funded deal, Tesla will be opening its charging stations to non-Tesla owners.

Right now, Tesla’s cars don’t conform to the industry’s charging standard. If you own a Tesla, you’ve got to use a Tesla charger. Other manufacturers, however, follow what’s called the Combined Charging System standard.

The owners of non-Tesla EVs can “fuel up” just about anywhere… anywhere but a Tesla station, that is.

The idea has long been a part of the company’s unique business model. In this way, Tesla is similar to Apple, with its unique charging and accessories systems. Shareholders would agree the idea seems to work.

But politics trump all.

A Disaster in the Making

Like we said, Elon strolled into the White House recently with his hat in hand. The president sent him home with it overflowing with cash.

Just yesterday, the Biden administration announced (admitted to handing out?) nearly $10 billion in fresh subsidies for the EV industry. It’s dishing out hoards of taxpayer cash to build new charging stations all across the country.

And Tesla can get in on the action… as long as it opens some of its charging stations to other brands.

As is the case with everything the government pushes on consumers, it’s a disaster in the making.

By our recollection, the government has never needed to subsidize economically strong businesses or industries.

Google didn’t get credits for developing its search function. Apple didn’t need Uncle Sam to discount its products to make us all want/need a smartphone. Mr. Ford used ingenuity and strong business skills to put his cars in every driveway.

In Cuba, of course, businesses are incentivized by the government all the time.

In China too.

And, almost mirroring what’s happening here, Venezuelans get their gas directly from the government.

The folks in those countries are happy, right? Perfectly strong economies…

We’re headed down a dangerous path with EVs.

The market must truly be a market… or it will collapse. Let the strong stand and the weak fall.

This line of thinking may not get votes or agree with political agendas, but history is riddled with massive failures that were subsidized by the heavy hand of government.

EVs can and should have a place in the future. But they’ll never be successful if the industry is built on handouts.

Elon will get richer.

But we’ll all pay for it.

Note: Did you know there’s an American EV company that doesn’t rely on handouts from Uncle Sam? Its cars are faster than Teslas, have a longer range… and are in huge demand. Best of all, the stock is dirt cheap. Watch us reveal one of the cars here.