[emteycz]

Yeah, that's normal for startups, they are made profitable (not "become profitable", this is not a process but a deliberate choice) after the growth phase, not during or, in case of Tesla, before it (as you pointed out, they still sell low amounts of cars). Tesla is in process of building their first factories and learning and developing the production, that costs money - money that other car makers have already paid off, but they paid it and their stocks looked just like Tesla at that time. Actually, it is incredible how good margins Tesla has given their stage as a carmaker, and it's a miracle they are profitable at all.

See this HN comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25118086

Tesla needs its years too. And it's looking good so far.