| "GAAP net loss of $408M" - the number that matters. Tesla isn't doing that badly. But now that they have some production volume, they have to be evaluated as a car company, not a startup. Can they make lots of cars at a profit? They got the production quantity up by throwing people, money, and a big tent at the Fremont plant. That ran up the cost per car. Although it's better than their previous state of low production with a full staff. Can they get to a smooth running production plant with labor hours per car comparable to Detroit? (About 30-50 labor hours per car is typical in the industry.) "Model 3 average selling price was stable at approximately $50,000." That's nice, but the Model 3 was supposed to be $35,000. Tesla has caught up with their backlog, and you can now buy a Tesla Model 3 off the lot, just like regular car dealers.[1] That's good; they're now like a normal car company. But it also means they've saturated the market at their high price point, which is about where BMW is. They're also at the point where all their models need a refresh or a replacement. Tesla is slow at new models compared to the competition. [1] https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/289911-what-shortage-tes... |
Take a look at the rate of growth in capacity both of their cars and their batteries. I don't know what it is, but with Shanghai Giga coming online this year, Model Y next year, Pickup + Semi thereafter, the growth in capacity and the capital requirements to install it, is not matched by any other car company, possibly in the history of car companies (Musk's posit, to be fact checked).
All that growth is very expensive, but they may be able to fund it from operations. That is 'super impressive'.
In terms of production volumes, they are still small relative to GM, Toyota, VW, I'd still put them in the startup category. But not for much longer.