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Elon Musk Is Shutting Down the Part of the Government That Helped Him Save Tesla

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Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has shut down the same DOE's Loan Programs Office that once allowed Tesla to flourish.

Billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's businesses have greatly relied on government funds, rescuing them from certain doom on several occasions.

A prominent example was in early 2010, when Tesla received a $465 million loan through the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office that allowed it to establish crucial supply lines for its Model S production and buy the Fremont factory in California from a bankrupt Toyota and General Motors venture.

It was a massive, taxpayer-funded lifeline that came at an extremely important time for Musk's EV maker.

But over 15 years later, in a staggering irony, Jalopnik reports that the billionaire's Department of Government Efficiency has shut down the same DOE's Loan Programs Office that once allowed Tesla to flourish.

It's a textbook example of Musk's hypocrisy, as he yanks the ladder up behind him, securing his own bottom line at the expense of those who follow. Other EV makers, including Rivian, have also benefited greatly from DOE funding that could soon run dry.

At the same time, Musk may be squandering the enormous opportunity the DoE gifted his carmaker over a decade ago. Earlier this month, Tesla revealed that its net income had plummeted by an astonishing 71 percent, in large part the result of the CEO's seemingly relentless efforts to tank the company's brand and reputation.

Musk's DOGE has dealt the DOE a devastating blow. More than 1,200 employees have taken up the so-called department on its "deferred resignation program," as Latitude Media reported earlier this month.

The Loan Programs Office, which grew substantially under president Joe Biden, has seen half of its staff walk, undermining the operations of current loan recipients, including a nuclear plant and sustainable aviation fuel project. Companies Kore Power and Freyr Battery also scrapped plans for their plans to expand into the battery manufacturing space after DOGE froze their loans.

Musk's space company SpaceX has also historically relied on major federal contracts to stay afloat. The firm was built on $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits over the last 20 years, as the Washington Post reported in February.

And SpaceX is likely to continue to be awarded billion-dollar contracts, from rural broadband initiatives to major rocket launch services for NASA.

In short, Musk is making it clearer than ever before exactly who he is: a greedy, self-interested profiteer who wants privileges he's actively cutting for others.

More on DOGE: Trump Admin Cancels Programs to Protect Children From Toxic Chemicals

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Elon Musk Is Shutting Down the Part of the Government That Helped Him Save Tesla

Scientists Converting Cars to Run on Invasive Seaweed

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Invasive sargassum seaweed may be a great source of biogas, turning it into a fuel that can power converted combustion engine cars.

Seaweed Sedan

Mountains of brown, sludgy sargassum, an invasive species of seaweed, have rendered popular beaches in the Caribbean into an unsightly mess.

The situation has become so dire that Barbados' prime minister Mia Mottley declared the invasion a national emergency in 2018.

But there could be a silver lining, the BBC reports: scientists say sargassum could be a lucrative source of biogas, turning the fibrous species into a fuel that can power converted combustion engine cars. A group of Caribbean scientists recently launched the first-ever vehicles converted to run on the stuff — a creative endeavor that turns a dire environmental crisis into a golden opportunity.

Biogas Boon

The team at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados developed a conversion kit that can turn a conventional gas-powered car into one that runs on the seaweed product for just $2,500.

"Tourism has suffered a lot from the seaweed; hotels have been spending millions on tackling it," UWI lecturer and renewable energy expert Legena Henry told the BBC.

The team combined rum distillery wastewater with sargassum inside a bioreactor and found that it produced plenty of usable biogas.

"Within just two weeks we got pretty good results," UWI student Brittney McKenzie, who was tasked with collecting the seaweed, told the broadcaster. "It was turning into something even bigger than we initially thought."

Sargassum has become a major problem, threatening not just local endangered wildlife but even human health due to the hydrogen sulfide it releases as it decomposes. Climate change is also allowing its population to explode, covering many Caribbean beaches entirely.

"By repurposing it in vehicles you protect tourism and prevent people from inhaling it," biologist Shamika Spencer, who worked on the project, told the BBC. "When we scale up to fuel more vehicles it will require a very large volume."

But the resulting sargassum-based biofuel won't be a magic fix for a growing environmental crisis.

"My goal is to help build up this region," Henry added. "We are now setting up a four-car pilot to demonstrate real-life working prototypes to convince funders that this is workable and scalable."

More on biogas: A Cruise Line Plans to Power Its Ships with Dead Fish

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