TESLA, SPACE X TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY

 

… AG Pam Bondi announced on Fox that the FBI was going to essentially serve as private security for Tesla dealerships: "If you're gonna touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out, because we're coming after you."

… Tesla paid zero income tax for 2024, despite taking in $2.3 billion in profits, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Over the past 3 years, Tesla reported $10.8 billion of US income and paid only a total of $48 million in taxes. That means over the last 3 years Tesla has paid 0.4% of their income in taxes.

… CNBC: “Tesla saved half a billion in taxes last year using accelerated depreciation. Tax breaks for executive stock options shaved a quarter billion off the company’s tax bill. Unspecified ‘US tax credits’ were good for $300 million of tax savings. Musk’s company also used net operating losses to offset current year income, although it’s hard to know how much of that affects US income rather than the company’s far-larger foreign income.”

… “Congress might give Tesla even more tax breaks. A bill passed by the House of Representatives in the previous Congress would have retroactively reinstated a provision allowing full expensing of research and development expenses which could save the company up to $2.4 billion in taxes.”

… Barron’s reports that 4 Tesla cars were set on fire in different German cities today, which continues a string a vandalism against Teslas across Europe after Musk campaigned for the far-right AfD in the German election. Tesla sales are down 76% in that country so far this year.

… “And Tesla isn’t the only Musk venture that’s struggling. SpaceX’s massive new Starship rocket has exploded twice this year during test flights. And Ontario, Canada, has canceled its contract with his Starlink internet company to provide service to remote communities, citing Trump’s tariffs. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Musk is $148 billion poorer than he was on Inauguration Day (he is currently worth $333.1 billion).”