Tesla gets good airtime today on TRMS in a segment about energy and the way we produce and use it. They were accurate and on point and mentioned about early re-payment of the ATVM loan as well as mentioning that Tesla is expecting to be profitable this quarter. Also played stock footage of a signature Model S on the road while talking about it. Great free press! http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/#51156544 note: clip is about 9 minutes long and you'll see Tesla about 3 minutes in to the segment.
The most important takeaway from Rachel Maddow's segment is something misunderstood by most Americans: The Department of Energy loan program, which Tesla took advantage of, was signed into law in 2007 by George W. Bush, not by Barack Obama.
Facts won't change the haters' attitude. The best that can be hoped for is that the numbers will diminish over time.
It's interesting to see the strategy and tactics here. On the one hand, Obama was happy to let Romney bury himself under the misdirected Tesla attacks. On the other hand, Obama was -- in contrast -- careful (?) not to directly praise Tesla. Is it because the Tesla loan was approved under Bush (or was it, I've lost track actually)? Is it to avoid giving the press reason to partition the program decisions into "Bush's credit/blame" and "Obama's credit/blame" on a case by case basis by company? It might be interesting to see that pivot on the data.
The very final approval (meaning funds release) happened under Obama, but it's unlikely he knew much about it as it was all handled by the bureaucrats.
Yes, but each administration controls who gets the loans. Only because something was done by a previous President doesn't mean it can't be undone by the new President. It's just silly to blame everything bad on GWB and everything good on BH0. It's just intellectually dishonest.
So you're bothered by all the pundits *blaming* it on the current administration? - - - Updated - - - fwiw, I think it's ridiculous that this has become a political issue at all.
Doesn't make it any less ridiculous. In my mind. There are so many more important things to focus upon. This is a red herring.
Putting "politics" and "ridiculous" in the same sentence pretty much guarantees you're not saying something surprising.
I think it may partially be because praise from the Obama administration has been like a jinx. Obama at the Solyndra plant, Biden at the supposed Fisker Delaware plant... it's like the kiss of death. Better to leave well enough alone.
This. For all we know, Obama's PR guys asked Tesla if they could host the announcement and Tesla said "no." I would have -- the last thing Tesla should want is to get entangled in politics (more than it has to be). There's no upside there. Lots of Republicans are happy to buy the Model S, but might not do so if it started to look like buying a Tesla == supporting Obama.
