lorenfb wrote:You forgot one of the the most important data metrics, i.e. GAAP loss per share of $11.83 (total loss ~ $2B).
That amounts to about a $20K per vehicle delivered in 2017 of shareholder wealth “given away”.
That sounds like some funny accounting. No, not the GAPP, but the added cost per car. Tesla makes money on producing Model S cars. Tesla is spending a lot of money on expanding the business, not on production of current cars.
To produce the first car costs a lot of money. The second copy of that car is cheaper, but still no where close to profitable. Tooling, engineering, training, programming... Don't get this money back unless you make enough copies of the car.
This is why most car startups have failed, and smaller car companies have gone out of business or merged with larger companies over US history. Huge capital costs, and many risks. Tesla might fail as well. They are at the third "Bet The Company on Growth" or BTOG point. There likely are more of these on the path of Tesla becoming a major car company.
Tesla might also realize that the next BTOG will not be possible, due to market factors, falling stock price, rising interest rates, or other reason(s), and convert to a slower or no growth company. As such, Tesla would become a boring and much cheaper stock, and a takeover target.