Curious to understand how Model 3 deposits are reported in financials. Deferred revenue?
Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
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Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#42Really 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…
Did the Q3 email say that it was to boost sales to show profitability?
I think it's fair to assume that they discounted the price because they were close to announce an "hardware" update.
Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#43Really 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…
Did the Q3 email say that it was to boost sales to show profitability? I think it's fair to assume that they discounted the price because they were close to announce an "hardware" update.
The Q3 email specifically said it was to boost sales to show profitability. You can find it via Google, it was publicly leaked.
That doesn't make your latter point wrong though, that was probably true too!
Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#44The Economist recently did a good article on the financing of Elon Musk's companies that flew under the radar of Hacker News that probably warranted further discussion [1] [2]. (Though the author of that piece completely misses the relative importance of each company to Musk, suggesting "he could try to sell [...] SpaceX, through gritted teeth, to a defence firm") It's unfortunate there's a bit of a reality distortio…
The first article was discussed on Hacker News:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12773035
Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#45Can someone explain what this[0] means? It would seem that when you buy the car, you don't own it after all. [0] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tesla-self-driving-car-n...
At least in the UK, such a term would have to be brought to your attention before the sale, very clearly, for it to be part of the contract. Writing that in the manual would have no effect.
Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#46One thing to note, I have a few friends who work at Tesla service centers. They cut A LOT of corners when it comes to service to show profits this quarter. For example, for the location that one of my friends works at (which happens to be one of the busiest locations in Southern California), they sold almost every single loaner vehicle as a used car.
While it's obvious that Tesla did whatever they could in Q3, it's worth noting that that's the strategy for loaner cars: they are supposed to be new, loaded cars, so that owners with a 2-3 year old car are tempted to upgrade.
Given the new sensors, they need to update the loaner fleet.
Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did the Q3 email say that it was to boost sales to show profitability? I think it's fair to assume that they discounted the price because they were close to announce an "hardware" update.
The Q3 email specifically said it was to boost sales to show profitability. You can find it via Google, it was publicly leaked. That doesn't make your latter point wrong though, that was probably true too!
I checked the Q3 email [1] and while it is indeed about motivating their teams to reach profitability, it doesn't mention any discount.
Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#48Curious to understand how Model 3 deposits are reported in financials. Deferred revenue?
Yes, I believe. As such it will be on the balance sheet but generally deferred revenue shouldn't have an impact on the income statement given accrual accounting. It will be recognized as revenue as the product is delivered. (It will affect the cash flow statement as well, of course.)
Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Excellent! Thank you for pointing that out. "Profit" is a comical term, how can we measure the net savings for humanity-at-large from such endeavors?
I wouldn't exactly call it comical. It's just that it's a political term rather than a financial one. Deciding to take a profit this year is an important signifier for the investors, who all must have the same question in mind, how long is it going to take for their investment to pay off. As long as Musk decides to roll all revenues back into operations, investors get nothing. Musk has a reputation as someone who doe…
Most investors value growth as well as income. And that's especially the case for Tesla investors, who bought a stock that has a ton of growth already priced into it.
Re: Tesla reports first quarterly profit in more than three years
#50Great news! But not a surprise considering the great people who work there.