An article on Slate.com has basically claimed that the government lost more money investing in Tesla than it did in Solyndra. A bold statement considering that Solyndra defaulted on its loan, and Tesla has already paid their loan off, nine years early, and with interest; but here is the reasoning.
In 2009 the global financial crisis was still in full affect. General Motors and Chrysler were heading towards bankruptcy and Tesla had suffered a year of layoffs, cancelled orders, and record losses. The US Department of Energy came to Tesla's rescue with an offer to lend the company $465 million at incredibly low interest rates. Four years later and Tesla is a roaring success. Valued at more than $12 billion on Wall Street it offers a sharp contrast to Solyndra.