Okay, America, time to party in the streets, for Elon Musk, the $5-billion government man, has made a profit! Cue the confetti and pop the champagne.
Tesla just reported positive earnings in the third quarter, reversing a seven-time losing streak.
So is a celebration in order? Of course! Elon Musk – the genius himself – has referred to this last quarter as “truly historic.” Rightfully so.
The last time Tesla reported a profitable quarter was in 2016, and this marks just the third time in history that Tesla has made money.
Given its rarity, why wouldn’t we celebrate this milestone feat for Musk’s electric car company and his daydream of the magical wonders that the next infusion of $5 billion in government support to good old Elon may bring to the table?
So what’s next – SpaceX? Will Musk’s aerospace company that is nearly entirely reliant on the government for contracts become more profitable as well?
A Wall Street Journal report suggests that the company, which is prone to accidents and explosions, hasn’t made much, with operating profits potentially as low as 0.2 percent just years ago. The Motley Fool summed it up best: “[c]urrently, all indications suggest that SpaceX is not profitable, but losing money.”
But hey, if Tesla just made some money, maybe SpaceX will do better, too. more here
Musk supports Trump and helps Make America Great Again and makes a Profit? Hmmm.
And in the other corner. . . lunatic Tom Steyers watches his money circle blue drains.
The article, and the one it links to, don’t mention how much Tesla earned from carbon credits. My recollection from the first quarter in which they earned a profit, 3 or 4 years ago, is that average loss per car was $12k but average carbon credit cash payment to Tesla per car was $13k.
For their second profitable quarter, Q3 2016, Tesla showed a profit of $22M, and $139M revenue from carbon credits.
@LCD — shouldn’t ” average loss per car was $12k” instead be – average cost to taxpayers per car was $12k ? A friend asked.
@Blink – average cost to taxpayers per car was $13k for the carbon credits. Plus the tax credits, maybe $10k? Plus the government loans to Tesla. Plus…
BTW the first quarterly profit was in 2013, the one I described above.
I found this funny
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How many rockets and passengers will Space X cost?
elon musk is the richest african-american
@missing – he is competing with Patrick Soon-Shiong, both for US and L.A. title! Soon-Shiong is also South African although of Chinese descent.
Soon-Shiong is ostensibly conservative, although primarily an opportunist.