Taxpayers on hook for $139 million after loan to failed green automaker is sold
Taxpayers are on the hook for a multi-million-dollar tab after a U.S. Department of Energy gamble on a green automaker went into the red.
The Obama administration announced Friday it will lose $139 million on a loan to struggling electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. after selling part of the loan to a private investor that immediately took the company into bankruptcy.
You know, because cars that impersonate this:
tend to have skittish investors...
I think what bothers me most about the Tesla is that it *could* have been something awesome. The Roadster has a 0-60 time worthy of most supercars. It has a maximum range of 300 miles - not too bad, except that it also takes a full 6 hours to charge for that maximum range. 300 miles, though, is plenty to get you back and forth to work the entire week - even if you don't plug it in.
But they wanted it to be a status symbol, so they priced it well out of the reach of most of the car buying public. If Joe Six Pack is going to drop 6 bills on a car, it's going to have a nameplate like Porsche, Corvette, or Mercedes. It's also going to be able to carry a set of golf clubs to the green with the A/C on high and not bog down.
And it certainly doesn't burst into flames when it hits something in the road...
That is all.
4 comments:
I know the Tesla had an issue with being firebombs, but did the Fisker cars as well? I just remember them being disgustingly expensive. That and I remember giggling when an entire lot of them got flooded over and destroyed.
Yeah, Jay, are you mixing up your cars, here?
I don't know how closely you are watching Tesla, but it's really still in the infant phase of being a car maker. We shall see how they grow as a company and iron out the inherent problems, but I have a feeling as they continue development with the Model S and the upcoming Model X, they'll look a whole lot more impressive than they previously have.
Internal combustion powered cars ALSO catch fire after collisions.
If you watch Hollywood movies, they sometimes explode in mid-air BEFORE the collision. :)
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