back to article General Motors goes electric with $2.5b US government loan for battery plants

The US Department of Energy is set to hand General Motors' subsidiary $2.5 billion in loans to help finance the construction of three new EV battery cell plants across the midwest.  The recipient of the money is Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture between GM and South Korean chaebol LG, which will use the money to assist in the …

  1. Lordrobot

    GOVERNMENT UNION MADE BATTERIES... Don't get one made on Friday!

    I just love the celebration of Gov Subsidies on a Government set-up bankruptcy restructuring where a UNION owns 20% of the company...The same UNION that destroyed the company and drove it into bankruptcy. ONLY GOV could have come up with this insanity. As the USA moves rapidly into nationalizing the auto industry. ELIZABETH WARREN MOTORS.... "Gov made them batteries!"

    NAFTA2 or the YMCA or whatever it's called is nothing but protectionist scheme for the US Auto Industry... SOLD AS A FREE TRADE AGREEMENT. SO this is your baby Murica and it will FAIL.

    But Wait... There's more...

    The Chip's Act is ready to rebuild the US Semiconductor business into the AMTRAK of Chips. Slap on that plastic smiles... THE USSA is BACK AGAIN...

    1. IGotOut Silver badge

      Re: GOVERNMENT UNION MADE BATTERIES... Don't get one made on Friday!

      You are amanfrommars' love child and I claim my £5

      1. First Light

        Re: GOVERNMENT UNION MADE BATTERIES... Don't get one made on Friday!

        amfm love child with Bombastic Bob?

  2. John Robson Silver badge

    Nissan must feel hard done by...

    $5.9 billion to Ford in 2009, $1.45 to Nissan in 2010, and $465 million to Tesla

    Just one dollar 45!

    1. First Light

      Re: Nissan must feel hard done by...

      Because it's furrin . . .

    2. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

      Re: Nissan must feel hard done by...

      Ugh, it's $1.45 billion. Don't forget to email corrections@theregister.com if you spot anything wrong so it can be fixed right away.

      Ta.

      C.

      1. John Robson Silver badge

        Re: Nissan must feel hard done by...

        It was such an obvious error that it was far better to laugh at it than complain.

        It is astonishing how many people think that Tesla have been unfairly favoured though.

    3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: Nissan must feel hard done by...

      I read the story after the correction was made and was surprised at how little Tesla got compared to the "big boys".

  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    44 against 558

    Wow.

    That's one hell of a difference to overcome.

    1. NeilPost Silver badge

      Re: 44 against 558

      … and the US is in second place.

      Have a thought for UK, France, Germany, hell even South Korea where government inaction and procrastination has allowed China this global lead. Same in Solar Panel manufacturing too.

      UK Test and Trace … £bn’s spaffed. Battery Manufacture … half a sixpence to Nissan/Envision (Chinese) in Sunderland.

      JLR looking like they will build their’s in Slovakia due to Govt disinterest in seeding anything in their home city of Coventry..

      1. IGotOut Silver badge

        Re: 44 against 558

        I'll just leave this here.

        https://wae.com/project/hyperbat-limited/

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: 44 against 558

          Interesting. Not the only ones in the UK though. I was interested in the multiple references to on-shore, local etc and wonder where their raw materials come from. Are they actually manufacturing or are they assembling? "Made in the UK"[1] is a very grey area at the best of times in this global market and supply chain.

          [1] The Made in the UK sticker we used to see on products was rarely ever true in the way "the man on the Clapham Omnibus" might have assumed.

          1. IGotOut Silver badge

            Re: 44 against 558

            Annoyingly I could answer some of your questions, but confidentiality clauses etc.

            However I can say at least a chunk of the final battery system is UK made.

  4. NeilPost Silver badge

    Why nothing since 2010??

    “ The DoE loan from its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program, and is the first to be staged since 2010, when the program loaned money to Tesla to help finance a production facility for the Model S.”

    This makes no sense. *Nothing* in 12 years ??

    Not even any Trump support for a new generation of V8 ICE Trucks ??

    Was there any risk/profit share back from the seeding the money to a now $3/4tn market cap Tesla ?? Seems little risk for Musk - already dizzyingly wealthy at the time - and was there any return for the Govt AVTM fund.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: Why nothing since 2010??

      "The DoE loan"

      Loan. So there will be a repayment plan, probably with interest. I doubt even the Tesla accountants will be able to claim no profits and have the loan written off. Although being a government loan, the interest and repayments plans will be very generous and long term. But then that's the point of government seed loans.

  5. ricegf

    Typical. Just, typical.

    Tesla repaid their loan early and with full interest, then went on to lead the EV revolution even without any federal tax credits for drivers these last few years. So naturally, the Reg leads with a wisecrack about government handouts to Tesla.

    1. NeilPost Silver badge

      Re: Typical. Just, typical.

      Other than the up to $7,500 EV credit available to all suppliers.

      https://electrek.co/2022/05/27/which-electric-vehicles-still-qualify-for-us-federal-tax-credit/amp/

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