Breitbart.com got Elon all wrong

01/15/13 21:58:00    

By Michael Mealling

I'm a huge fan of Andrew Breitbart and his various web properties that have continued his vision: Big Hollywood, Big Journalism, and Big Government. Its the last one that has done a disservice to one of the best businessmen and engineers of our generation. Mike Flynn accuses Elon of crony capitalism because of the loan guarantees that both Tesla and Solar City have received and, in an amazing level of ignorance, the money SpaceX got from NASA for delivering on time and under budget.

As a libertarian there is a real debate about whether the Government should be involved in anything like loan guarantees. But if you are EVER going to do it then this is the one example of it working and working very, very well. Loan guarantees like this have been going on with governments for for a very long time.

Elon's list of accomplishments and what the tax payer has gotten in return is astounding:

• The first civilian spacecraft to the ISS at almost a TENTH of the price that NASA could ever do it for.
• The first electric car that doesn't suck
• Solar City had one of the best IPOs of 2012
• Credible plans to build the Falcon Heavy and a fully reusable Falcon 9
• Single handedly brought the launch market back to the US
• Credible plans to GO TO FUCKING MARS!

One particularly ignorant suggestion is that the money paid by NASA was somehow just “given” to Elon for nothing. ALL of the COTS and Commercial Crew contracts were pay for performance, not cost plus. That means SpaceX gets paid AFTER it demonstrates the required capability. I dare Mike Flynn to find a crony capitalist willing to make THAT deal. Not just make that deal, but insist on it so strongly that he's willing to walk away from the deal to get it.

Mike Flynn owes Elon an apology.