How Profitable Is Each Car Tesla Sells? 4.5× More Than Each Ford Or GM Car

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How profitable is each car that Tesla sells? This is a question that was recently asked in a thread of misinformation and FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) being put forth on Twitter. The question was answered by James Stephenson, who debunked the entire thread of misinformation with his own graphs, charts, and forecasts.

Answering the question, James said that Tesla is about five times more profitable than the average of Ford and General Motors. He shared his forecast that showed how Tesla’s profit per vehicle continues to grow.

I should also address Brianna‘s question:

“How profitable is each car Tesla sells?“

About 5x more profitable than the average of Ford & GM, Brianna. 🤣

That’s as of last year, too– even if you totally disregard my forecast that Tesla profit per vehicle will continue growing. https://t.co/qz89PrFHes

— James Stephenson (@ICannot_Enough) May 23, 2022

James’ above graph was part of his latest Tesla forecast thread posted on May 7. Each tweet includes graphs to highlight his points.

In a nutshell, James predicted that the Covid-19 lockdowns in China will impact Tesla’s overall profitability in Q2 2022, but strong demand for Tesla’s products will enable Tesla to bounce back throughout the rest of the year.

Regarding his tweet addressing the question of how profitable each car is that Tesla sells, James shared his source for that information with me. The data came from @ForwardCap, which tweeted a graph showing that Tesla is making 4.5 times more profit per vehicle than both Ford and General Motors. According to the chart, Tesla made $10,702 net income/delivery, which is much higher than Ford’s $2,371 and GM’s $2,391.

$TSLA makes 4.5x more profit per vehicle than each $F and $GM pic.twitter.com/leuezkzLjy

— Forward Cap (@forwardcap) April 27, 2022

In a private message on Twitter, James also pointed out that the critiques of Tesla had no backing or proof whereas James cited solid sources for his information.

“The key contrast here is that the FUD was just a litany of unsupported claims — while the thread I tweeted in response was supported by reliable, verifiable data.”

The point is that Tesla is making almost five times as much profit per vehicle as Ford or GM, according to the most recent financial statements from the three companies.

Debunking The Other Tesla-Related Claims

Claim: The Growth of Tesla’s Stock Price Has Never Been Based On Car Sales.

The claim that Tesla would be the next WeWork was based on the assumption that Tesla’s stock price was never based on car sales but only on hype from Elon Musk and his vision for a future.

That claim was debunked by James’ chart showing Tesla’s quarterly revenue from inception to Q1 2022. Although James designed the chart, it should be noted that these are the actual numbers reported by Tesla, not his forecast.

Claim: Buying Tesla Stock Requires Believing Illogical Stories About Self-Driving Cars.

James pointed out that this claim was illogical because many people buy stocks in order to own a part of one of the world’s financially healthiest companies.

Claim: Tesla Stock Is Worth Maybe $150.

The claim that Tesla’s stock price is divorced from any kind of financial reality and is, very simply, just one person’s idea of the situation. He pointed out this claim was nothing more than an opinion. Should a company with world-class profitability, growing earnings by over 100% year over year, trade at a price target ratio of less than 10 to this year’s earnings? Well, that’s one idea.

Claim: Tesla’s Hype Media Army, Who Are Profiting From Their Own Investments, Convinced People To Look Past Fundamental Valuation Questions For A Long Time.

This claim echoes many of the claims that “$TSLAQ” critics have made about many Tesla owners, enthusiasts, and shareholders. We are all just paid to say good things about Tesla — that’s what they claim. I get accused also. It’s quite comical. If I was so rich and paid by Tesla, I wouldn’t have had to sell all my stocks in January for health reasons. I don’t have insurance (it’s just too expensive), and yet, I’m supposedly on Tesla’s payroll making beaucoup money off the stock.

James responded, “Ironically, it is the $TSLAQ haters and rating agencies who are looking past the fundamental valuations.”

He backed this up with a chart by @MmeAlexandraS, who showed how Tesla is now in the league of Alphabet yet is still junk-rated.

UPDATE – Q1/22 data:
Escalating absurdity of financial strength of $TSLA compared to credit ratings of @MoodysInvSvc and @SPGlobalRatings.
Tesla is now in the league of Alphabet, yet still junk rated.
How much longer will this continue?
SEC proposal may end it, see comment pic.twitter.com/hUmYzFc4T3

— Ale𝕏andra Merz (@TeslaBoomerMama) May 18, 2022

Concluding Thoughts

I think it’s important to remember Tesla’s mission. Its mission is aligned with solving climate change and creating a better future. Elon Musk is often mocked for this by both sides of the political spectrum (it used to be just one side, but now it’s both), and the madness sometimes suppresses the actual success Tesla has achieved.

Elon Musk is incredibly polarizing. Too many either extremely hate him or love him. I’m in the latter category. He was kind to me. He has helped my community during hurricanes. He’s listened to me and acknowledged my ideas on Twitter. He’s shown me, personally, that he doesn’t just care about a random stranger on Twitter, but he actually does have a heart for people, especially if they are hurting or in need.

Those in the other camp let their hatred blind them to the point of stupidity. They overlook the successes Tesla has achieved. And when they do address Tesla, they spread misinformation or very twisted half-truths with just enough truth in it to get by.

It’s hard for many to separate Tesla from Elon Musk, but both have helped our society achieve some pretty good things, especially in regard to climate change. Tesla’s mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy is the core of what it does. Over the past two years, Tesla’s push for sustainability has helped changed the public’s perception of EVs from a joke to now commonplace. Remember, it wasn’t so long ago when many were wondering if a safe, efficient, and eye-catching EV would ever exist. Now that they do, I think it’s good to remind folks that spreading misinformation because you don’t like someone isn’t how you solve problems that affect one emotionally. Or help others. It hurts everyone.