Dare I say it, your tax dollars at work?
Remains to be seen.
As sumbrownkid says above, it's a loan, not a grant. Now, if they're unable to pay that loan back, as Fisker have thus far been unable to do (and don't look like achieving any time soon) then it's a bad thing. Wasted tax dollars. "The next Solyndra", as people say.
But if Tesla pays it back (and they borrowed a heck of a lot less than Fisker did in the first place), then it's a good thing. Whatever people think of DoE loans, if Fisker pays it back and starts turning a profit, then it's paying its own taxes, it's creating jobs, it's another string to the bow of the American car industry.
The unfortunate thing is that the "green energy" industry is economically a bit dodgy. Partly because the incumbent industry is already heavily subsidized by tax dollars and it's tough to compete with that. Throw in the "automaker" thing and it's increasingly difficult to pull off. Chrysler is the youngest U.S. automaker still going, and it started all the way back in 1925 (and even
it nearly died during the 2008 recession). The car industry is pretty difficult to survive in.
My suspicion is that Tesla has now made it far enough that it won't just fizzle out and die like Fisker is doing. Their image, reputation and products are too valueable and if the company hit a rough patch, I suspect there'd be half a dozen existing automakers willing to snap them up.
