For a self-made billionaire and international business tycoon, Elon Musk sure does seem to have a lot in common with approximately half of all Americans. Like 49% of all American households many of Mr. Musk’s companies seem to be dependent on benefits from the federal government. The man who hopes to die on Mars may have his trip made possible by leveraging government tax benefits to make unprofitable companies profitable. SolarCity lost the better part of a billion dollars in 2016 before being acquired last November by Tesla, another of Mr. Musk’s enterprises. In an effort to stop the bleeding, Tesla’s new solar division drastically altered its business model and moved into solar roofing tiles.
