The richest person in the world says he doesn't wants any help from the US government, but his companies have actually gotten billions of dollars worth.
Like many other wealthy Americans, Musk has spoken out against a proposed "billionaires' tax" from Sen. Ron Wyden, writing on Twitter in October that "eventually, they run out of other people's money, and then they come for you."
More recently, he spoke out against government subsidies and tax incentives for US businesses. In a recent interview with TIME, he said the government was not a good "steward of capital."
And at a Wall Street Journal summit this month, Musk said the government should "just delete" all subsidies from the $1 trillion infrastructure bill President Joe Biden recently signed into law. Biden's bill included $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which would seem to help one of Musk's companies, Tesla Motors.
However, over the years, Musk's companies — Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity — have received billions of dollars from government loans, contracts, tax credits, and subsidies. According to a Los Angeles Times investigation, Musk's companies had received an estimated $4.9 billion in government support by 2015, and they've gotten more since.
Here's a look at some of the federal and state-level government subsidies that have contributed to building Musk's empire.