[mstachowiak]

I would propose viewing Tesla as an energy storage company, not a car company (JB and Elon both think of Tesla this way). The car is a battery on wheels, and the battery is the product. They're not trying to be the next BMW, and attempts to value them through this lense will miss the mark.

[Gibbon1]

When I worked at Intel there were some comments along the lines of 'Intel is a Fab House that designs Microprocessors on the side' One can apply that to Tesla as a battery manufacturer that also builds cars.

Strength I see for Tesla is unlike the other car companies they don't have capital tied up in the legacy car business. Granted legacy is 97% of the market right now, but it won't be in ten years.

[erikpukinskis]

Musk has also started talking like the product is factory, not the car or the energy storage.

[usrusr]

How high is their current valuation relative to other energy storage companies? (Honestly, I don't know)

[patrickk]

Another way to look at it: how big is the global market for gas peaker plants? If current trends continue, solar PV + batteries will be cheaper at some point than any fossil fuel[1], so at that point Telsa energy will begin to consume large chunks of that market.

According to this link[2] gas peaker plans were 50% of energy installs in 2013, the best link I could find from a quick search.

[1] Interesting talk on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxryv2XrnqM

[2] http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=15751

[tbabb]

> I would propose viewing Tesla as an energy storage company

Yeah, I'd say it would not be unfair to compare future Tesla to a company like GE ($270B mkt cap).

Optimistic, but not irrational.

[semi-extrinsic]

I beg to differ - GE is not an energy company, it's a multinational conglomorate heavily involved also in a dozen other fields like oil&gas, aviation, healthcare, home appliances, finance, research and transportation.

GE Healthcare alone employs >40 000 people and does >4x the revenue of Tesla today.

Maybe if Tesla merged with SpaceX and also with five-six other large companies you'd be about right.

[tbabb]

> GE is not an energy company

Fair enough (though I'd think the oil & gas you mention would count), but look at any energy company today and you'll see similar numbers. Another poster in this thread compares to Exxon; similarly favorable.

You may not think Tesla will make it there, and you might turn out to be right. But those that do are optimistic; not stupid.

[kgwgk]

Why stop at Exxon? You can also compare Tesla with Saudi Aramco and that would justify a multi-trillion valuation!