[simonsarris]

Direct link to the letter: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ABEA-4CW8X0/310041501...

> Total Q3 GAAP revenue was $2.30 billion, up 145% from Q3 2015, while total Q3 gross margin was 27.7%, compared to 21.6% in Q2. Total automotive revenue was $2.15 billion on a GAAP basis, up 152% from Q3 2015. Our final Q3 delivery count was 24,821,over 300 more than the estimated delivery count we shared on October 2nd. Deliveries increased 114% from the third quarter of 2015, and was comprised of 16,047 Model S and 8,774 Model X vehicles. In addition, 5,065 vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the quarter. These vehicles will be delivered in Q4.

[vvanders]

> We achieved record production levels in Q3, rising to 25,185 vehicles for an increase of 37% from Q2 and an increase of 92% from Q3 last year.

An almost 100% production increase Year over Year, they said it couldn't be done and yet here we are.

[jacquesm]

Compare with Toyota's annual production of approximately 9 million vehicles for some perspective.

[RubberSpoon]

Compare with Toyota's head start of approximately 66 years for some perspective.

[TylerE]

They're literally building them in an old Toyota plant, that at peak output was 426,000 vehicles annually.

[erikpukinskis]

They're building televisions in an old lawnmower plant. For the most part they built a new factory inside the old one.

[rimantas]

More like building tv sets into lawnmower.

[annerajb]

Not just that they mentioned that they could push that to a million cars annually but that it would be very unwise/taxing for them.

[codeulike]

When it was full of Toyota equipment and staff.

[sambe]

Why does this comparison keep coming up? Relative growth and absolute count is not the same. Neither is the company in the same phase. Neither is there demand for 9MM Teslas per year.

[jacquesm]

> Relative growth and absolute count is not the same.

That's exactly why it keeps coming up. It's easy to grow 50% when you're making a relatively small number of items, it's another thing entirely when you're much larger. So for Tesla to post these growth figures is meaningless without taking the actual numbers of cars shipped into account.

[sambe]

Firstly, I don't think this way "easy". It may be easier. Secondly, I don't think that's obviously true. In fact, I doubt it. If you get into millions and millions you've probably already encountered and solved most every scaling problem you will ever have. When you are in the lower numbers there are multiple different levels of scaling, all of which need to be solved.

I don't think the apples to oranges comparison helps make the point anyway. It's just a throw-away. If someone writes "Toyota makes 9MM cars", I discard as "wrong thread". Even if the difficulty curve changes shape against Tesla starting right now, Toyota's production capacity remains pretty irrelevant.