Tesla would have failed without Obama-era loan
Klein argues Tesla would have gone under without an Obama-era government loan guarantee, undercutting Musk's anti-government narrative.
Snapshot · Modern Wisdom
The Collapse of American Politics - Ezra Klein - #1114
Explore episode
Jun 22, 2026
Where this was said
What Does Deregulation Actually Mean?
At 55:30 · chapter starts 53:53
Williamson poses the sharpest policy question of the episode: how do you explain the difference between Klein's deregulation and Musk's around a dinner table? Klein's answer is disarmingly simple: deregulation means removing rules; the question is always whether the specific rules you are removing serve your goals. Tesla was built on government tax credits; California subsidised the entire EV market into existence; an Obama-era loan guarantee saved Tesla from bankruptcy. SpaceX's revenues depend on NASA contracts. Musk's project — indiscriminate cutting without a theory of what to build — is self-defeating and the opposite of what created him. [1] — Ezra Klein "Tesla exists because of government subsidies and Obama-era loan guarantees. SpaceX runs on NASA contracts. Musk's DOGE-style deregulation —…" 54:00 Klein then applies this logic to housing: Mamdani's Block by Block plan is a deregulation plan, but its goal is to make affordable housing cheaper to build. The absurdity it is trying to fix is a case where government rules designed to raise standards have made it two to four times more expensive to build publicly subsidised affordable housing than market-rate housing — producing Washington DC units costing $1.2 million each. The abundance question is always: what do you want more of, and how do you get it? Rules are tools, not ideologies.
Deregulation Isn't Owned by the Right — It Depends on the Goal
Tesla exists because of government subsidies and Obama-era loan guarantees. SpaceX runs on NASA contracts. Musk's DOGE-style deregulation — cutting indiscriminately without a theory of what to build — is the opposite of what made those companies possible. Real abundance thinking asks: what do we want more of, and how do we get it?
Affordable Housing That Costs More Than Market Rate
In Washington DC, publicly funded affordable housing units have cost as much as $1.2 million each. One development had affordable units costing $800K while market-rate units next door cost $400K. The goal was affordability. The rules created the opposite. This is the Abundance critique in one case study.
Similar snapshots
Zero users on launch day
Despite months of meticulous preparation, Starter Story's initial launch attracted zero users — a humbling reminder that building alone guarantees nothing.
First Reddit post: 100 users
A single Reddit link post quickly drove 100 visitors to the Starter Story website, igniting the founder's belief in social traffic.
Hundreds of upvotes on repackaged post
After reformatting content as a native self-post (no direct link spam), the post exploded with hundreds of upvotes and thousands of readers.
Millions reading his content on Reddit
By posting again and again with the native-content strategy, the founder's posts repeatedly hit Reddit's front page, reaching millions of readers.
Tens of thousands of email subscribers
Before Reddit banned his domain, the founder converted his viral traffic into an email list of tens of thousands — a self-owned audience independent of Reddit.
Reddit petition to ban domain
Redditors eventually organized a petition to ban starterstory.com posts, effectively ending the Reddit growth channel — but the email list was already built.
$1M business built on Reddit hack
The Reddit attention strategy ultimately served as the foundation for a million-dollar business, proving that free distribution channels can replace paid marketing.
Strategy: native content, small footer link
The key tactic was keeping content fully on-platform (no direct link spam), then adding a small link at the post's end for users who wanted more.
Quit 9-to-5 after email list built
With a thriving email list and a self-owned audience, the founder quit his six-figure New York City salary job to go all-in on Starter Story.
