Did Obama just give Tesla a huge bump?

Much of the agenda items sounded good and if a Republican president had mentioned them the GOP would be giving standing ovations. But the GOP will basically squash any attempt to do anything in hopes of screwing the economy enough to get Obama out of office. Consequently, I wouldn't expect any items on Obama's agenda to get passed.

ckessel said:

Much of the agenda items sounded good and if a Republican president had mentioned them the GOP would be giving standing ovations. But the GOP will basically squash any attempt to do anything in hopes of screwing the economy enough to get Obama out of office. Consequently, I wouldn't expect any items on Obama's agenda to get passed.

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That's what I think too. It's scary/sad when politics gets to the point where politicians would knowingly destroy the country just to have a political advantage. I just hope the electorate is not entirely blind to this happening.

Judge Obama by his actions, not by what he says. They are not by any means the same!

Lloyd said:

Judge Obama by his actions, not by what he says. They are not by any means the same!

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The same warning should be said of any president and any politician.

He was inoculating on the failure of Solyndra, not talking about Tesla. However, his full-throated supported for tax breaks for clean energy and alternative fuels is certainly good to hear for Tesla. Make the tax break $15,000!

I'd also add that Telsa's efforts to hire military veterans at the Fremont factory fit in nicely with Obama's speech as well.

Arnold Panz said:

Make the tax break $15,000!

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I've said this before elsewhere, but I'd much rather they take away all the subsidies built into the ICE/gas ecosystem, and maybe even levy some well designed taxes. We could achieve our security, environmental, and economic goals much more efficiently, and raise money to pay down debt in the mean time.

I wish he would have mentioned Tesla by name in the speech. but that was a great speech.

de704 said:

I wish he would have mentioned Tesla by name in the speech. but that was a great speech.

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He had to be circumspect about doing that after Solyndra though. And, whatever we all might say, the Model S is still not a car for the masses so, the President should not be seen to be touting a company that makes cars for the relatively well off (atleast as of now).

de704 said:

I wish he would have mentioned Tesla by name in the speech. but that was a great speech.

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I think that would have been the worst thing in the long term for Tesla. The fact is, there is 50% shot that Obama will not be president at this time next year, and the Republicans are going to do everything possible to repeal or destroy everything he did in his first term (and I would agree with the republicans for about 90% of their efforts). To be the strongest car company possible, and the convert the most people to EV's as possible, Tesla needs to be simply an American car company, not "Obama's Car Company". As long as they are viewed as a pet company of the left, a large percentage of the right will work to destroy them (this works both ways, if they were vocally propped up by George W Bush, the left would be hell bent on bringing them to their knees)

Rifleman said:

I think that would have been the worst thing in the long term for Tesla. The fact is, there is 50% shot that Obama will not be president at this time next year, and the Republicans are going to do everything possible to repeal or destroy everything he did in his first term (and I would agree with the republicans for about 90% of their efforts). To be the strongest car company possible, and the convert the most people to EV's as possible, Tesla needs to be simply an American car company, not "Obama's Car Company". As long as they are viewed as a pet company of the left, a large percentage of the right will work to destroy them (this works both ways, if they were vocally propped up by George W Bush, the left would be hell bent on bringing them to their knees)

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The Model S loan is from the AVTM program which people see to forget sometimes.
Bush-Era Job Program Is GOP Leaders' No. 1 Target

I agree though. I think Tesla should be able to make it without any additional loans.

Rifleman said:

if they were vocally propped up by George W Bush, the left would be hell bent on bringing them to their knees)

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The loan program originated under Bush and is still widely supported by liberals. You're ascribing motivations to liberals based on how motivations work for conservatives. It's an understandable assumption, but largely incorrect.

ckessel said:

You're ascribing motivations to liberals based on how motivations work for conservatives.

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As a conservative, I can tell you that your assumption on how we are motivated is incorrect.

When this program was passed under Bush it was a much more liberal version of the GOP that did it. Since then the rise of the Tea party has forced the GOP to move more to the right. The GOP that wants to repeal this program today is not the same GOP that passed it a few years ago.

Conservatives do not oppose this program because Obama supports it. They oppose it because Obama doesn't know how to market it to them. He keeps telling us that we should like it because it is good for the environment, which most conservatives don't understand or don't care about (I'm in the don't care much camp).

I have often fielded criticism from conservative friends and family about the tax break. Simply pointing out that the net effect will be that fewer of our dollars will be used to buy guns that kill our troops wins them over with ease. Know your audience. Obama obviously only knows his liberal audience.

Your comment was every bit as arrogant as Rifleman's.

Citizen-T said:

Conservatives do not oppose this program because Obama supports it. They oppose it because Obama doesn't know how to market it to them.

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If I'm reading that correctly, you're saying conservatives aren't opposing items on their merits, but on the advertising? I'm not sure how that caveat makes the conservative position sound better. Obama pretty clearly knows his audience. No conservative is going to vote for him regardless since he's the messenger in the advertisement, there's no point in selling to them.

If you'd like to consider me arrogant, that's fine. I don't think it changes anything about the merits of the bill though.

Citizen-T said:

They oppose it because Obama doesn't know how to market it to them. He keeps telling us that we should like it because it is good for the environment, which most conservatives don't understand or don't care about (I'm in the don't care much camp).

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I have raised this exact point for the entire EV community in general. We (as a group) do ourselves a disservice by selling EV technology primarily as an environment issue. I always sell it as a national security issue first, with environmental impact a side benefit.

"EVs are good because they move us toward energy independence. Less foreign oil means a safer America." Say that to your right-leaning friends, and they will be on your side in a heartbeat. Stop talking about global warming; they aren't listening.

and even more they are just plain fun to drive and easy to own

chronopublish said:

We (as a group) do ourselves a disservice by selling EV technology primarily as an environment issue.

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I completely agree.

Plug-ins are a huge environmental win, but according to studies of buyers, the environment plays by far the smallest role in influencing buying decisions. Saving money over a comparably cool car is #1, and national security & economy is a big #2.

Given that few people buy the cars for environmental reasons, and almost all the opposition is from people that are trying to push back against what they perceive as a "greenie" issue, I think it's counter-productive to push the environmental angle. It's not like there aren't tons of other advantages to discuss instead...