How have government incentives helped to fuel the success of Elon Musk's entrepreneurial ventures—and what role should the government play in supporting corporations promising to deliver social value for society?
How have government incentives helped to fuel the success of Elon Musk's entrepreneurial ventures—and what role should the government play in supporting corporations promising to deliver social value for society?
The ventures of Elon Musk, the forward-thinking founder and CEO of Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX, benefited from a variety of state and federal programs that incentivize private enterprise investments in clean energy. This case details the government's support for Musk's companies and summarizes the successes and challenges Musk continues to face. With Musk's ventures as prime examples of private /public partnerships in support of a long-term social good, students are presented with arguments both for and against the government's policy of investing tax payer dollars in new ventures that, by definition, are risky.