I knew that Mike. I will say Elon Musk has put a ton of his own money into Tesla. I am not aware of public money being invested in the company. The public money comes into play at the buyer end with tax credits for the people buying them. It helps, but these are still expensive cars. They are not giving them away. There is a real demand for such a product. That is why Aston Martin is getting in the game, along with VW, BMW, Volvo, Renault, Nissan, Chevy. They have created a new market for electric cars, which I think is a good thing. BTW, the federal tax credit expires once Tesla sells 200,000 cars in the US. So it should be gone by the end of next year. As for the dealer system, I am not wedded to it. There are pros and cons to it. In 20 years, it may be gone. Look at retail in general as a result of the internet. Time moves on, things change. Look at Schiit. No dealers, buy direct. Saves money. The car industry will adapt or time will pass them by. Btw, without the public teat as you say, after the financial collapse, a good chunk of the auto industry, dealer network, parts suppliers etc. would be gone. Food for thought.
