By Daily Crux Editor Justin Brill:

Who would have guessed it?

According to a Congressional Oversight Panel on the auto industry bailout, U.S. taxpayers are likely to take a huge loss on the $81 billion in “aid” the government gave General Motors and Chrysler.

The panel didn’t release total expected losses, but said none of the initial $23 billion the companies received last year would likely be repaid.

Shares of the two companies would have to rise “to unprecedented levels” in order for taxpayers to get their money back. GM, for example, would have to hit a market cap of almost $68 billion, which is nearly $10 billion more than the company was worth at its April 2008 peak.

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