I think Tesla does a good job of making folks think they are doing a lot of R&D, but that's about it. Based on some quick internet research, Tesla is a quarter of the R&D of either Ford or GM...
Unless you think it's higher quality or in a different area... but the whole world is going toward electric cars and autonomous driving. Tesla AutoPilot comes in a distant second to GM according to Consumer Reports: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/28/gms-super-cruise-tops-teslas...
There's a reasonable chance of Tesla creating patents that generate a license fee from every car produced, basically in the globe.
It's kind of the reason Toyota has a monopoly on hybrids: they have a patent on the best kind of hybrid system. Ford held a similar enough patent that Toyota entered into a license agreement with them.
Getting a 20 year monopoly on key EV/battery tech will be worth an unimaginable sum.
I don't agree with Telsa's valuation, but I can appreciate why investors support them at their current price.
It's kind of the reason Toyota has a monopoly on hybrids: they have a patent on the best kind of hybrid system. Ford held a similar enough patent that Toyota entered into a license agreement with them.
Getting a 20 year monopoly on key EV/battery tech will be worth an unimaginable sum.
I don't agree with Telsa's valuation, but I can appreciate why investors support them at their current price.