> Tesla started without the subsidies.

It wouldn't have survived without them though. State/Federal EV tax credits & carbon credits are government subsidies, and are not a natural product of the "free market".

As opposed to governments currently trying to lure Tesla in with subsidies, preferential tariff policy, etc.?

(And, FWIW, an early source of revenue for Tesla _was_ subsidies. https://journals.law.unc.edu/ncjolt/blogs/tesla-motors-gover...)

SpaceX depends _massively_ on government contracts.

Tesla also started without Musk.

Uh. California began offering $5,000 rebates for electric vehicles in 2007, before Tesla sold its first car. It was literally a selling point touted by Tesla.

From Tesla's blog (2009): Tax incentives: Why the Roadster costs less than its sticker price

https://web.archive.org/web/20090118215254/http://www.teslam...