Tesla received a $465M US Department of Energy loan in 2010 — and repaid it in full, nine years early, in 2013, with interest. EV purchase incentives are available to all qualifying automakers, not just Tesla. Tesla has been profitable on its core automotive operations for years, with billions in annual operating income driven by vehicle sales. Regulatory-credit sales exist, but Tesla's automotive gross profit has not depended on them in profitable years. The company that repaid its government loan early while legacy automakers took far larger bailouts is an odd poster child for "survives on subsidies." It is worth weighing the scale, too: the 2009 auto bailout handed GM and Chrysler tens of billions of dollars, much of which was never repaid, while Tesla's $465M loan was repaid in full with interest in 2013 — nine years ahead of schedule. EV incentives are policy tools available to every manufacturer, and as those US credits were curtailed in 2025 Tesla remained profitable, which is the opposite of what a subsidy-dependent business would do.