Failed labor icon Ralph Nader has struggled to maintain relevance over the years. Ever since the left blamed him for Al Gore’s loss in 2000 to George W. Bush, he’s had a hard time finding anyone who will still buy what he’s selling. So, he decided to go after Elon Musk. Big mistake.
How it started:
Elon Musk started Tesla with a huge U.S. government welfare grant. He has taken taxpayers to the cleaners for his factories and for Starlink. He is a gigantic corporate welfare king masquerading as a capitalist businessman. -R
Musk (@elonmusk) started Tesla with a huge U.S. government welfare grant. He has taken taxpayers to the cleaners for his factories and for Starlink. He is a gigantic corporate welfare king masquerading as a capitalist businessman. -R
— Ralph Nader (@RalphNader) February 24, 2023
How it ended:
Ralph Nader, you are lying – shame on you! I personally provided almost all Tesla funding, based on my proceeds from PayPal, from Series A in 2004 until Series C in 2007. In late 2008, I gave Tesla the last money I had. It was that or the company would have died. We closed that funding round at 6pm on Christmas Eve. If we had not closed that round, Tesla would have gone bankrupt 2 days after Christmas. I gave my last money thinking Tesla would probably still die, not thinking that it would be lucrative. The first meaningful government funding Tesla received was in Q2 2010 from a loan under the vehicle efficiency lending program. Tesla paid back that loan early with interest. Taxpayers actually made a profit.
Ralph Nader, you are lying – shame on you! I personally provided almost all Tesla funding, based on my proceeds from PayPal, from Series A in 2004 until Series C in 2007.
In late 2008, I gave Tesla the last money I had. It was that or the company would have died. We closed that…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2023
It’s time for the 88-year-old Nader to accept that he didn’t accomplish much of what he set out to do but at least he had some laughs along the way.
