Free Republic

With the Solyndra scandal still swirling, the Obama administration is under pressure to reveal the financial condition of the solar companies that received $4.75 billion in similar federal loan guarantees on the last day of the program. Republican lawmakers on two House committees are seeking details about the loans given to First Solar, SunPower Corp. and ProLogis. Of those three companies, troubling financial revelations have emerged about SunPower, which received a $1.2 billion loan, more than twice the money approved for Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy last month after receiving a $528 million loan. The Energy Department says on its...

Upstart electric car maker Tesla Motors will get a $465 million loan under a $25 billion program set up during the Bush administration as an offset to higher fuel standards. The program is aimed at helping automakers retool to produce more fuel-efficient or electric vehicles. Congress was slow to actually fund the program, however, so this week's announcement involves the first loans. Tesla, which already makes an electric roadster, remains dwarfed by the competition. Ford will get $5.9 billion from the same program, and Nissan snagged $1.6 billion.