Yes, yes. You have to spend money to make money and you can't make an omlet without cracking a few eggs, but just weeks after Panasonic invests $30 M into Tesla in a battery deal, the California-based electric car maker has just posted a $35 M loss.
This is $30.3 MILLION dollars more than they lost a year ago, and the reason is mostly due to investment in the Model S sedan. R&D spending was up to $26.7 M this quarter vs. $1.3 M the year before.
In a conference call, CEO Elon Musk said that short-term profitability "is not a particularly meaningful goal because we're spending on the order of half a billion dollars over the next nine quarters. So you can expect to see some fairly significant expenses there. It's really the only way to execute the business given that we're going from roughly 600 units a year to roughly 20,000 units a year."
Revenue this quarter has fallen 31.4% to $31.2 M
( AutoNews )
hybris says:
09:56 AM, 11/10/10
Man this company is like a massive black hole for investment capital.
I almost wonder if they can out spend the government if this keeps up especially will so little product to show for it.
06scooby says:
11:49 AM, 11/10/10
so have they actually sold anything yet and netted an income?
joedriver8 says:
03:47 PM, 11/10/10
Someone please remove my ignorance on this subject. Why is Tesla getting government funding from American tax dollars to build cars that only a small fraction of said tax payers will able to ever afford? All this and early looks appears that they're already a sinking ship.
jederino says:
12:24 PM, 11/12/10
R&D development of $27 M is not in itself a surprising number. The C5 corvetter was around $250 million to develop, and that was a shoestring budget compared to over a billion dollars for the Taurus and other high volume vehicles. Someone here recommended "All Corvettes are Red". Seriously, read that book if you are interested in car engineering and design.
Cars cost A LOT to develop to be legal and competitive. Is Tesla misleading investors and the Guv?
jkp1187 says:
06:49 AM, 11/17/10
I can't believe that the rent-seeking carnival barker who runs Tesla would mislead the government and the public...would he? [/sarcasm]