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by downandout 4795 days ago
GAAP profit was $11 million. Zero emission vehicle (ZEV) credits sold to other automakers amounted to approximately $68 million. In other words, taxpayers gave $68 million to Tesla this quarter. Without this taxpayer gift, which will be drastically reduced going forward, they would have posted a loss of $57 million this quarter. Not fantastic.
2 comments
jstalin 4795 days ago
It seems that their business model is entirely dependent on government subsidies. So now that wealth is being transferred from general US taxpayers to the shareholders of Tesla.
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simonh 4795 days ago
Considering the $17.4Bn bailout of the conventional US car industry a few years ago it's small change.

Personally I'd be a little more concerned about the $20Bn per year paid in farm subsidies, to an industry with median household incomes 17% higher than the national average, if I were a US citizen. At least the money going into Tesla is buying the US a lead in the future of automotive technology, instead of going towards further impoverishing third world farmers.

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cheapsteak 4795 days ago
Could you explain how the money other automakers paid Tesla for ZEV credits is paid by taxpayers?

Also why would this 'gift' be drastically reduced? I thought ZEV quotas were rising.

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smackfu 4795 days ago
Yes, I think the parent may be confusing the ZEV credits with tax credits. Car manufacturers (in California at least) have to make a certain number of cars with low and zero-emissions. For 2012, I think it's 13%. Tesla makes 100% of their cards as ZEV, so they take 87% of their credits and sell them to other manufacturers who don't sell enough low emissions vehicle, or who sell no ZEV.

The important point is that these credits were created out of thin air, and don't cost the taxpayers anything. And their goal is to do exactly what they are doing... to get a certain amount of ZEVs vehicles out there, and to give manufacturers a financial reason to sell more, since they don't want to be buying those credits from Tesla.

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codex 4795 days ago
By increasing vehicle prices, these ZEV credits do, in fact, cost taxpayers. But that's a price everyone has to pay for their own carbon emissions.
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