A recent Washington Post analysis found that Elon Musk’s companies, including Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX, have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits over the past two decades. While Musk has often pushed for cutting government spending, his businesses have benefited enormously from taxpayer money.

Massive Government Support for Musk’s Companies

According to The Post, nearly two-thirds of the funds Musk’s businesses received came in just the last five years. In 2024 alone, $6.3 billion in federal and state funds were committed to his ventures, marking a record high.

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The money primarily came from contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense, which have relied on SpaceX for space exploration and satellite launches. Tesla, on the other hand, has collected $11.4 billion in regulatory credits designed to encourage electric vehicle production.

How Tesla and SpaceX Benefited

Tesla, which struggled financially in its early years, secured a $465 million low-interest loan from the U.S. Energy Department in 2010. This helped the company launch the Model S and expand production. Musk later repaid the loan ahead of schedule, but government support continued in other ways. Tesla’s ability to sell emissions credits to other automakers played a huge role in making the company profitable. Without these credits, Tesla would have lost $700 million in 2020 instead of reporting an $862 million profit, according to The Post’s analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

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SpaceX, founded in 2002, received early backing from NASA and the Pentagon, which helped fund rocket development. Even before its first successful launch, NASA awarded SpaceX a $278 million contract in 2006. Over the years, the government has continued investing in SpaceX, with NASA alone contributing $14.9 billion for various space missions.

Musk’s Call to End Subsidies—Except for His Own?

Despite benefiting from public funding, Musk has criticized government subsidies, arguing that the electric vehicle tax credit should be eliminated. While Tesla no longer needs the incentive, Musk’s competitors do, and experts say his stance could hurt smaller companies trying to enter the EV market.