But that's the thing, if I take my entire salary and lose it gambling I still owe the government taxes.
I the person am taxed on revenue.
If instead I have a corporation handle everything then I can come up with (relatively simple) systems so that I don't pay taxes and the corporation doesn't pay taxes either.
It isn't Hollywood accounting, it is just that Tesla isn't very profitable once the proper accounting is done. If you tax profits and companies don't have a lot of them then they won't pay taxes. Particularly if the government puts tax incentives in place to encourage people to go in to solar and EVs.
Valuation != profits. Tesla's profits do not explain Musk's wealth, people have been pointing out for years that the valuations of companies like Tesla make little sense. There was a long stretch of many years where they were bleeding red ink like crazy with not much to show for it.
The tax system works on accounting reality, not the opinions of stock traders.
In other words, no experience with how corporate taxes work.