The answer is clout. A 25 employee software company that is equally innovative on a per-head basis would get laughed out of the government offices if they requested a rate-equivalent tax break.
Your point is taken, but the ability of Tesla to do this whilst other companies do not have the same opportunity strikes many as unfair.
It's the presumption that traditional household structures are archaic. Plenty of modern households operate on the basis of traditional role separation, and it has nothing to do with oppression.
The Boston Beer Company (maker of Samuel Adams) is still technically a craft/micro brewery, since they produce (intentionally) less than 6 million barrels annually. The entire craft brew industry produces less than 8% of all domestic beer.
Calling Sam Adams a "major brand" is a bit of a stretch.
Oh, that thing that doesn't get me frequent flyer points when I buy gas, food, etc? That thing that if lost or stolen I don't get back? No thank you, I'll stick with my credit-card.
The opposite, actually. Many of us see through the transparent and obviously ham-fisted attempts of the U.S. propaganda machine to drive us into another war.
> 6% returns in a ZIRP environment are actually quite fantastic.
You can find yields substantially higher than 6%. There are mortgage REITs that have yields well above 10%, and there are plenty of closed end funds and MLPs that yield better than 6%. Ditto for preferred shares.
Really want yield? MORL, a leveraged ETN that tracks the Market Vectors Global Mortgage REITs Index, has a current yield of around 20%, and CEFL, a leveraged ETN that tracks the ISE High Income Index, sports a similar yield.
Investors today are not challenged by a lack of yield but rather appropriately priced risk. In most cases, today's yields do not adequately compensate for risk. The "6% returns in a ZIRP environment are actually quite fantastic" mentality is going to cause a lot of investors a lot of pain. Chasing yield and ignoring risk is a game very few people win.
Your point is taken, but the ability of Tesla to do this whilst other companies do not have the same opportunity strikes many as unfair.