I see this as liability shifting exercise first, scalability tool second, and Elon's desire to deliver on his 2016 promise third.

The scalability point is compound. We are talking charging, storage, and cleaning infra as well as regulatory burdens. Scaling that is hard and local, so it does make sense to outsource that. I believe the deal is really raw because of the risks involved, but Elon does have a decent track record of delivering on investment. Some of these entities will be able to perform regulatory capture and become a decent cash cow.