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Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

reuters.com

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Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#141

Post by _ea1k »

yladiz wrote: post #37

I'm impressed and skeptical of the substantial increase in production. A 70% increase in production in one year would likely require substantial changes in the production stages. Hopefully Tesla didn't cut any corners to hit this production number; I'm hopeful that they just scaled back their production initially and now show their "full potential", or added a lot of new machinery in their production line(s). Maybe t…

I am pretty sure that the plant they are operating from (NUMMI) has a lot of potential for increase. I think that it peaked at over 400k units a year before Tesla bought it.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#142

Post by ceterum_censeo »

mikeash wrote: post #139
ceterum_censeo wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, got it now, thanks. Any idea why they have to list automotive leasing as a separate line item on their report? If they are selling it to a bank who is then responsible for the lease, why list it separately?

Good question! I went poking around and turned up this article: http://seekingalpha.com/amp/article/3988503-gaaps-treatment-... If I understand it correctly (probability: moderate?) then it's basically an accounting artifact. The fact that Tesla arranges the lease means they have to book the revenue differently. Somehow....

Nice find, that helps. My reading is that it's slightly more than an artifact: Tesla is guaranteeing a residual, so the sale to the bank is conditional and so cannot be recorded as a simple sale.

GAAP strikes me as a set of things that, alone, are good intentions but combined are more confusing than they need to be.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#144

Post by TylerE »

RubberSpoon wrote: post #106
jacquesm wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compare with Toyota's annual production of approximately 9 million vehicles for some perspective.

Compare with Toyota's head start of approximately 66 years for some perspective.

They're literally building them in an old Toyota plant, that at peak output was 426,000 vehicles annually.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#145

Post by Consultant32452 »

mikeash wrote: post #122
ams6110 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have anything against Musk. I simply don't care much one way or the other because the things he's working on will never affect me. Electric cars are not something I'm interested in owning at the price Tesla is asking. Or even half what Tesla is asking. Utility electricity works fine for me, is a small fraction of my monthly budget, and is reliable. I.e. something I never really worry about. Payments for and m…

Even if you use none of these things directly, other people's use of them affects you. Electrified transport benefits everyone, even people who never use it. Same for energy storage.

You forgot driverless transportation, which very soon will impact virtually every good sold in the country.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#146

Post by gniv »

_ea1k wrote: post #140
ams6110 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if they can sustain prices as competition comes online from other makers.

It is going to take about 3 years for competition to reach where Tesla is right now with regards to range and charging networks.

Charging networks maybe, but range no. The Chevy Bolt that will start selling in a couple of months has 238 miles range.

GM doesn't have the superchargers, but they can afford to price these cars with zero profit for a while, if they want to undercut Tesla.

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#147

Post by irq11 »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #145
mikeash wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if you use none of these things directly, other people's use of them affects you. Electrified transport benefits everyone, even people who never use it. Same for energy storage.

You forgot driverless transportation, which very soon will impact virtually every good sold in the country.

...particularly when a self-driving Tesla slams into it!

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#148

Post by mikeash »

ceterum_censeo wrote: post #142
mikeash wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good question! I went poking around and turned up this article: http://seekingalpha.com/amp/article/3988503-gaaps-treatment-... If I understand it correctly (probability: moderate?) then it's basically an accounting artifact. The fact that Tesla arranges the lease means they have to book the revenue differently. Somehow....

Nice find, that helps. My reading is that it's slightly more than an artifact: Tesla is guaranteeing a residual, so the sale to the bank is conditional and so cannot be recorded as a simple sale. GAAP strikes me as a set of things that, alone, are good intentions but combined are more confusing than they need to be.

Makes sense. And thanks for your persistent questioning, I learned some new stuff!

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#149

Post by dylanz »

mitchellh wrote: post #23

Really great news! But something that shouldn't be overlooked is the discounts they gave in Q3 to push deliveries up. First, those that know me know that I am a Tesla FANATIC. My girlfriend once challenged me to not talk about Tesla (motors, energy, something) for a 24 hour period. I dunno if I've ever done that honestly. I'm also an owner (no surprise given my fanaticism, lucky to be able to afford one). And I also…

My girlfriend also told me to stop talking about Tesla. She would actually get angry when I started talking about Tesla news :(

Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years

#150

Post by rblatz »

Vik1ng wrote: post #125
Anasufovic wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's similar to iPhones, countless complaints yet those same people keep buying them.

Really? iPhones seem to have somewhat predictable cycles. I have owned 4 and every time I pretty much knew when a new one would come out.

iPhone 7s or maybe iPhone 10 will ship around September 20th 2017.
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