A 2014 “60 Minutes” interview with Elon Musk is suddenly back in rotation on X and it’s not hard to see why. With headlines swirling about Musk backing away from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency and calls for federal spending cuts growing louder, the clip is a timely throwback to a different kind of Musk headline—one where he wasn’t slashing budgets but writing checks to the government.
In the resurfaced interview, journalist Scott Pelley zeroed in on Tesla’s taxpayer-funded boost. “Taxpayers essentially loaned you, Tesla, almost $500 million. How much of that do you still owe?”
Musk, calm as ever, replied, “We paid the whole loan back with interest and a prepayment penalty last year.”
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When asked why he paid the loan off early, Musk said the taxpayers had supported Tesla, so, as he put it, “we ought to repay them as soon as we can.” He added, “Since we had the ability to do it and the stock markets were good, let’s pay it back with interest and a thank you note, by the way. I said, ‘really appreciate it. Thank you.'”
That’s not just talk. In 2010, Tesla received a $465 million loan from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. It was part of a broader effort to jumpstart clean energy and EV innovation in the U.S.
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In May 2013, Tesla wrote a check to the U.S. government for the full balance—nine years ahead of schedule—making it the first American automaker to fully repay its ATVM loan. And they didn’t just slide the check under the door. The repayment came with interest and a prepayment penalty, signaling Musk wasn’t looking for a discount or an exit ramp.
Even more notable? The thank-you note.
“I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the program,” Musk said in a statement in 2013, “and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate. I hope we did you proud.”
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That line alone could be a headline in 2025. Because these days, Musk is associated more with government belt-tightening than borrowing. As a leader of DOGE, he’s been at the helm of a controversial crackdown on federal spending—that has resulted in the cutting more than 280,000 jobs and the trimming department budgets across the board. But now, reports suggest Musk is stepping back from that post, citing the need to refocus on his own companies.
With tariffs looming and funding debates heating up, the clip is more than nostalgia—it’s a reminder that Musk has played nearly every position on the public funding field: borrower, taxpayer, and budget-slasher-in-chief.
So yes, he had almost a full decade left to pay off Tesla’s loan. But in true Musk fashion, he didn’t wait around. And he left a thank-you note when he left.
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