[Someone]

A difference is that Tesla hasn't really managed to execute its original plan, in particular:

- Use that money to develop a medium volume car at a lower price

- Use that money to create an affordable, high volume car

Amazon is way better at making money to invest in growth. Tesla ?still? is in a fairly deep well, and will need investments to crawl out of it. Big question is whether they will.

Good news is that they aren't at 2012 scale anymore; bad news is that they aren't improving recently (https://ycharts.com/companies/TSLA/profit_margin)

[Decade]

That would depend on what your definition of “use” is. Musk is using a surprising definition of “use” that includes “leverage.”

The income increases the cash flow, which is obviously important, but it also signals to investors and bankers that there is a business, and they can invest or loan with better confidence.