Seems like we have been down this road before. I know GM made a pretty decent case why they flew on private planes (kidnapping, etc.) so I am split down the middle on this topic. Frankly, they can piss away their money all they want until it becomes taxpayer (read OUR) money. After all, you won't see me buying any stock in GM or Tesla. After all, I keep hearing these brilliant commercials that say BUY GOLD! Read on for the story from peHUB.


Quote from the article:

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has flown his private jet to Washington at least 12 times since the beginning of last year—just months after Congress chastised the CEOs of GM, Chrysler and Ford for flying private jets to request public financing. FAA records collected by FlightAware.com show that Musk’s jet, a Dassault Falcon 900, touched down in Washington June 15, 2009 – one week before the electric car maker won a guaranteed $465 million loan from the Department of Energy. Two weeks before that, Tesla began paying for the jet’s operating expenses. This worked out to $175,000 in costs for the final six months of 2009, according to a recent registration statement with the SEC (Tesla is planning to raise $100 million via an IPO). Since Tesla started paying for Musk’s work-related flights, the CEO’s plane went to Washington four more times, touching down on June 15, Sept. 7, Sept. 27, Nov. 4 and once since the new year began, records show. Musk also may have used the plan for business related to SpaceX, a commercial rocket-ship maker that also runs. The plane also could have been used for non-business purposes. For example, it was used in the making of the 2005 movie “Thank You For Smoking.”

Source: Tesla CEO Took Private Jet to Washington D.C.