In the United States, the electric car marketplace—and the media—has been dominated by Elon Musk and his EV manufacturing company, Tesla. It’s undeniable that Tesla makes some amazing cars, such as the Model S and the Model 3, however, the press has largely focused in recent years on the finances of Tesla, rather than the cars themselves.
In some ways, this is not surprising when you consider that Tesla has lost over US$6 billion since its inception. However, Tesla is investing in manufacturing capability to facilitate its long-term position in a cutting-edge industry, so it’s a mistake—and somewhat shortsighted—to judge the business solely by its quarter-on-quarter profit figures.
There is good reason for optimism about EV market growth driven by Tesla. Its newest offering, the Model 3, has been wildly successful; in Q3 2019, Tesla shipped over 79,000 of them. Tesla has also just completed its so-called ‘Giga Factory’ in Shanghai, China. This facility will deliver more than 250,000 vehicles annually, at a much higher margin than those produced in the USA. In time it’s quite possible that Tesla will have great profit figures to showcase alongside its great cars!