--- title: "It Turns Out SpaceX and Tesla Get Way More Government Money Than NPR" description: "It looks like Elon Musk needs to put his — or the taxpayer's — money where his mouth is when it comes to \"government-funded\" enterprises." date: "2023-04-15" modified: "2023-04-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-tesla-government-money-npr" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Tesla" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # It Turns Out SpaceX and Tesla Get Way More Government Money Than NPR ![It looks like Elon Musk needs to put his — or the taxpayer's — money where his mouth is when it comes to "government-funded" enterprises.]() *\Image: PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images\* ## The Taxman Cometh It looks like Elon Musk needs to put his — or the taxpayer's — money where his mouth is when it comes to "government-funded" enterprises. The Twitter owner's controversial decision to [slap a "government-funded media" label]() on *NPR*'s account led to the [independent public broadcaster's exit]() from the social network. Many saw the move as hypocritical, [*Gizmodo* reports](), since several of Musk's ventures, including SpaceX and Tesla rely far more on government funding. While *NPR does* receive public grants, they only account for one percent of its revenue, the nonprofit news service claims. Those grants were only one percent of the organization's [$309 million ]()revenue last year, though that percentage doesn't include the government grants some of *NPR*'s local affiliates use to pay their licensing fees. ## Space Subsidies Compared to the amount of money Musk's ventures have received from the government over the years, that's chump change. SpaceX alone got a whopping $2.8 *billion* in government contracts last year, [according to *The Information*](), and has gotten a total of $15.3 billion from the government since 2003. While *Gizmodo* notes that Musk insists contract awards are not the same as the sort of subsidies that *NPR* gets, the news site is arguing that were it not for NASA taking a chance on SpaceX, the company would not exist today. Along with the money SpaceX has been awarded by the US government, the company requested an $885 million subsidy — about 295 times more than what *NPR* got last year — for its Starlink satellite broadband service to serve rural communities, [but was denied]() by the Federal Communications Commission. The company has since [appealed]() that decision. ## Subsidized Driving Speaking of subsidies: Tesla has also gotten its own giant share of taxpayer money via grants meant to boost electric vehicle manufacturing, as well as a $465 million preferential loan from the US Department of Energy back in 2010 that Musk, to his credit, did [pay off by 2013](). Like countless other companies, Tesla also accepted some untold amount of cash through the Treasury Department's corporate aid during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020 — and as [*Insider* reported at the time](), Musk received them right after[ tweeting against subsidies](). In short: Tesla and SpaceX are far more "government-funded" than *NPR*, but you won't see Musk labeling their Twitter accounts as such. **More on Elon:** [*Twitter Rips Into Elon Musk's New Crypto "Ponzi Scheme"*]() ## 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]()