Now Tesla on Chopping Block: House Eyes Axe for Electric Car

Republicans want our jobs.
Certain members of Congress are considering cutting the federal loan program that helped Tesla Motors, the electric car company based in Fremont, get off the ground, according to the Bay Citizen.
The Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program is under scrutiny by House Republicans following the failure of Fremont solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra, which received $535 million in guaranteed federal loans, according to the Web site.
The plan on Capitol Hill would reduce the $7.5 billion advanced vehicle subsidy by $500 million, and transfer $1 billion away to pay for cleanup of Hurricane Irene, the Web site reported. There would still be $2.5 billion in the loan package to help pay for electric cars.
Reps. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) and Gary C. Peters (D-MI) slammed the proposed funding cuts in a letter sent Monday to House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Washington. The letter, signed by 77 Democratic members of Congress, said the program had created thousands of auto manufacturing jobs across the nation.
Tesla Motors currently employs 200 workers at the facility — a workforce that it says will grow to 1,000 within 12 months. The plant will produce fully electric luxury sedans, which Tesla expects to sell for about $50,000 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
Tesla has spent $400 milllion in federal monies since 2003, and says it will start turning profits in 2013, a claim questioned by critics.