No, the intention of the program was to give Tesla (or any other company that qualified for the program) a competitive advantage against incumbents. It definitely succeeded in doing that. In fact, it was so successful Tesla paid back the loans early.

Ten years from now when people look back they will definitely say that the government played a critical role in Tesla's success. And that's a very good thing.

"a competitive advantage against incumbents"

Where did the DOE say this?

I believe they said "to accelerate the production of fuel-efficient vehicles for mainstream Americans and reduce the nation's dependency on oil."