--- title: "Elon Musk Furious That the Government Isn’t Giving Him More Free Money" description: "After years of huge subsidies, Elon Musk is big mad that the US government isn't giving one of his companies another eight-figure grant." date: "2022-09-13" modified: "2022-09-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-starlink-grant-rejection-subsidies" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "federal communications commission" - "SpaceX" - "starlink" - "tesla" - "us government" --- # Elon Musk Furious That the Government Isn’t Giving Him More Free Money ![After years of huge subsidies, Elon Musk is big mad that the US government isn't giving one of his companies another eight-figure grant.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* After years of huge subsidies, Elon Musk is big mad that the US government isn't giving one of his companies another substantial grant. After the Federal Communications Commission blocked an $885.5 million broadband funding grant to SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, the Musk company is [appealing the decision]() and calling it "grossly unfair." As [*Ars Technica* notes](), SpaceX's appeal is unlikely to succeed — but it could be a precursor to a lawsuit against the government for, in essence, refusing to give Musk hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. That would be striking, because in the past Musk has expressed a strong opposition to government subsidies. "I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies," he [said last year](), "but also for oil and gas." In spite of [that libertarian posturing](), the reality is that Musk's companies have received billions of dollars in US government funding. For the better part of a decade, news of large-figure subsidies have cropped up around the SpaceX and Telsa CEO's companies. In 2015, the [*Los Angeles* *Times* reported]() that Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity had been granted a cumulative $4.9 billion from various federal agencies. An [analysis from *Grid News*]() published in April of this year found that Tesla has sold off $6 billion in regulatory tax credits — a maneuver which, [per the Trefis financial data firm](), could have resulted in the company appearing more profitable than it actually is. In public, though, Musk has taken a decidedly anti-subsidy stance. Curious! In December 2021, he trashed President Joe Biden's plan to boost the electric vehicle industry with grants. Back in 2015, one financial expert warned that eventually, the government coffers would not be so open to Musk. "He definitely goes where there is government money," Dan Dolev, a Jeffries Equity Research analyst, told the *LA Times*. "That’s a great strategy, but the government will cut you off one day." And with the latest news from the FCC, it seems that just might be starting to happen. **READ MORE:** [Starlink appeals FCC rejection of $886M grant, calls reversal “grossly unfair”]() \[*Ars Technica*\] **More Musk v. USA:** [*Elon Musk Had to Prove He's "Not a Drug Addict" After Smoking Weed With Joe Rogan*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()