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I see this a lot, but people often don't understand where a lot of the money he's gotten comes from. The big ones that come up beyond regular tax incentives for building something somewhere are... (these often don't cost money, it means less money in though)

SpaceX - They bid on contracts and won them and are often the lowest cost bidder. Sure it's government money but its not in anyway shape or form close to welfare. They are actually saving tax payers billions of dollars.

Tesla - They got a DOE loan while times were hurting yes, but it was a LOAN, that they paid back in full early. Nothing special here and not a bailout. Tax payers benefited from the interest.

Tesla - ZEV credits - People can complain about this one if they want as it's the closest to what you're describing, but it was intended to spur new business which it did. This is the one that others couldn't realistically benefit from but Tesla could. The money comes from other manufactures though, not taxpayers. But it was forced by the government, so in a sense this one is a handout in the form of a punishment.

Tesla - $7500 200k rebates were open to everyone up to 200k vehicles. GM also used these up.

Tesla - $7500 IRA Have convinced Tesla and other OEMs to source more materials within NA boosting the NA economy and it's independence from outside threats, so while it's money out, it's also money in and improved national security.

You gotta remember, as a corporation, they are obligated to use any and all incentives available to them, or they would be breaching their fiduciary duty and open to shareholder lawsuits. They do not have a choice on the matter.

Edit: Clarity on some points, but I also wanted to add, that SpaceX is going to save the US government more money than Tesla will ever have taken from taxpayers. Its a fact, not up for debate. It might have already done so as well given the below quote.

Quote from a general in the military

"General Hyten, [then] the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told me last year ... the fact that we have competition now on going to space -- just for the military -- has saved them $40 billion in launch costs."

Yup. And the US post office does a ton of the work for Jeff. Something like 2/3 of our "welfare" dollars just go to corporate welfare. What confuses me is why republican voters support this. Because I know they aren't all multi millionaires or billionaires.

Not necessarily true. More money at that level isn't about more material possessions or even more services: it's about more power and influence. It's playing toward oligarchy.

Cumulative interest is absurdly powerful. Turns out that the best way to earn a fuckton of money is to start with a heckton.

Tangentially related: a friend told me that they worked out that £1,000,000 in the bank/invested in safe options would accrue enough interest that you could retire and have a decently comfortable income just off of the interest (meaning that the million pounds would remain untouched and able to be inherited by kids of whatever).

It weirdly reminds me of growing things like moss, yeast (for bread) or fungi. It takes far more time than work; you set up the conditions for them to grow, and then you leave them to their own devices for a while. I can't imagine treating money like this; growing up poor means that no matter what level of financial security I achieve as an adult, I will always be acutely aware of exactly how much money I have, and how fast it is growing or shrinking.

If this happens, he gets a pass. It's the only reason I can think of to focus that much wealth in one place.

We need more people like Luigi to add excitement back into their lives!