Tesla successfully delivered 367,500 vehicles in 2019

[captaincranky]

You aren't understanding what is being said.

Example
Cost to build single car $20K
Selling price of car $25K
Cost to build factory for upcoming model $100K

Build/sell zero cars, and you are $100K in debt
Build/sell 15 cars, and you are $25K in debt

Your previous statement implied that every car built put Tesla further in debt, when in fact, the opposite is true.

Saying a car is sold at a loss is far different from saying a company is operating with a loss.

Well no. You have to incorporate operating expenses into the equation. Like the heat, the lights, the tent, and whatnot. You could get double the (alleged), cost of building the car back, it you do enough fancy accounting, and still not be in the black, if, gross expenses exceed net income.

Musk is good at creating diversions. One quarter, when Tesla was about to show a quarter billion dollar loss, he was off showing "drawings", for his supposed "spacesuit", for his supposed, "mars colony".

It's like a magic show. everybody is too busy marveling at her legs in black fishnets, they don't bother to try and figure out how the magician got the rabbit into the hat.

Tesla could put on the brakes and choose to take profit for a few years... but in this industry, where there have been no successful newcomers for decades, that approach would ensure their demise....[ ]....

Really? If history tells us anything, it tells us the no empire can expand forever.

The government has a name for borrowing more money to pay back money you borrowed from a previous investor, while claiming it's profits. It's called , "a Ponzi scheme".

One thing I will give Musk credit for being able to do, is talk the wallet out of anyone's pocket, be it individual, corporation, or nation.

 

[sreams]

Well no. You have to incorporate operating expenses into the equation. Like the heat, the lights, the tent, and whatnot. You could get double the (alleged), cost of building the car back, it you do enough fancy accounting, and still not be in the black, if, gross expenses exceed net income.

There have been cars manufactured that have sold individually at a loss, so that every one sold puts the company deeper into debt. That is an important distinction.

Really? If history tells us anything, it tells us the no empire can expand forever.

Who said anything about expanding forever? Even at their current run rate, Tesla has a long way to go before they are in the same league as the incumbents. You would have them stop expanding for some near-term profit, and then they'd be run over by the industry.

 

[captaincranky]

There have been cars manufactured that have sold individually at a loss, so that every one sold puts the company deeper into debt. That is an important distinction.

Again, not IMO. It's juggling the books. Capital expenditures can't go on forever causing a net loss

Who said anything about expanding forever? Even at their current run rate, Tesla has a long way to go before they are in the same league as the incumbents. You would have them stop expanding for some near-term profit, and then they'd be run over by the industry.

Today's modern business multi billionaires are akin to conqueror's of the past. Ask yourself, do you think that Jeff Bezos will ever have as much money as he wants in his lifetime. So, the mentality for eternal expansion is there. Musk has it as well, and as long as he has investors or municipalities to bleed, trust me, you'll have more "gigafactories" going up.

I do see your point mirrored in the Intel vs. AMD struggle being played out at present though.

 

[sreams]

Again, not IMO. It's juggling the books. Capital expenditures can't go on forever causing a net loss
Today's modern business multi billionaires are akin to conqueror's of the past. Ask yourself, do you think that Jeff Bezos will ever have as much money as he wants in his lifetime. So, the mentality for eternal expansion is there. Musk has it as well, and as long as he has investors or municipalities to bleed, trust me, you'll have more "gigafactories" going up.

I do see your point mirrored in the Intel vs. AMD struggle being played out at present though.

I think it's way too early to presume what Tesla's path is. Once they are actually competitive with the other players in terms of production, then we can look at what they do next and whether or not they are profitable. As an investor myself, I don't want to see any letup until then. I think most of the people wanting to see Tesla slow down and take profit instead don't actually have any skin in the game. And that's fine. Whatever choices Tesla makes will not benefit/harm them.