REUTERS/Stephen Lam
In the post, published Friday, Palin criticized Fisker Automotive and other electric carmakers.
Fisker laid off three quarters of its employees last week after receiving nearly $200 million from the Department of Energy, and may be on the verge of bankruptcy. In response, Palin commented:
This losing tax-subsidized venture joins other past losers like the Obama-subsidized Volt that gets 40 miles per battery charge, or like the Obama-subsidized Tesla that turns into a “brick” when the battery completely discharges and then costs $40,000 to repair.
On Twitter Monday, Musk responded with casual sarcasm, rebutting Palin's claim:
Sarah Palin calls Tesla a loser. Am deeply wounded. rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/07/…Btw, Model S warranty does cover "bricking".
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 8, 2013
Musk has dealt with this particular critique of his company from conservatives before. In November, when the Tesla Model S was named Motor Trend's Car of the Year, Musk referenced Mitt Romney's description of the government investment in Tesla as a "loser," saying Romney "was right about the object of that statement, but not the subject."