Would $200 billion energy loan program survive Trump redux? Don’t bank on it.

Political uncertainty leaves clean-tech borrowers in wait-and-see mode.

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The 2012 Tesla Model S started it all. Above, the first Tesla factory parade, June 2012 at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. Photo: Steve Jurvetson/flickr.

(Bill Sternberg is a veteran Washington journalist and former editorial page editor of USA Today.)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (Callaway Climate Insights) — Back in early 2010, Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ was desperate for cash as it was attempting to navigate a costly transition from building sports cars to building sedans. Salvation came in the form of a $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy that the fledgling automaker used to construct a plant in California and launch its Model S.

So it’s more than a little rich that, in this year’s presidential campaign, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has gone all-in for Donald Trump, who has mocked electric vehicles and who would likely slash the very government program that helped Tesla survive.