Cost to the taxpayers? There used to be this thing called "Noblesse oblige". That your nobility extended beyond mere position or entitlement, requiring people of high status to fulfill responsibilities to their people as well. For example, it could include generosity towards those around him. As those who lived on the nobles' land had obligations to the nobility, the nobility had obligations to their people, including protection at the least. That, "Noble ancestry constrains to honorable behavior; privilege entails responsibility." I just don't know. Look, if Elon is trying to do the right thing, and I\d like to believe that he is, and help people out in a crisis, because he's in a position to do something others can't, then good on him. But if he's just looking to make a buck, then fuck him.