What’s unclear from the ad is who supposedly stands to gain those electoral votes, in return for the government loans. The ad also muddies the water by listing 38 other small companies it says are engaged in developing electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid vehicles and related systems.
The (very) fine print at the bottom of the ad says that the ad was paid for solely by AFS, and that the listed companies are only cited as examples of innovators in the field of fuel-efficient technologies. But on the face of it, the ad looks as if it was sponsored by all those companies. Apparently that’s not the case.
Companies listed in the ad include archrivals Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive, which are engaged in a lawsuit with each other over trade secrets. Global Electric Motor Cars is also listed, even though it’s a subsidiary of Chrysler.
The ad proposes that small companies get 25 percent of any loans that are funded by Congress. That might not be a bad idea, but by itself, a close reading of the AFS ad raises more questions than it answers.