> This is the $1T question. What happens when Tesla finally gets valued as a car manufacturer, with side businesses in cheap but unreliable solar, and over-priced grid storage?
They are the 14th largest car maker in the world by annual units sold, and almost in the top 10 by annual revenue from cars.
Surely that is good enough to maintain a market cap that is 50% higher than the combined market caps of the top 10 (Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai-Kia, Renault-Nissan, General Motors, Stellantis, Honda, Ford, BYD, and Suzuki)?
But don't forget that they have truly unique skills as a company that none of those other companies can pull off: they have shrinking sales even when focusing on the only segment of cars that's growing: EVs.
Yes, slightly edging out the Toyota RAV4. But Toyota also has the Corolla which is also not too far behind the Tesla Model Y. The Camry also does well, typically around #7 or 8 in the top 10 list, whereas the Model Y is the only Tesla in the top 10.
Across all models Tesla sold around 1.8 million in 2024, with 1.2 million of those being Model Ys.
Toyota across all models sold 10.8 million in 2024. Toyota sold more cars just in the US in 2024 (2.3 million) than Tesla sold in the whole world.
Easy to have the best selling car when you sell very few models across your range. Other car companies "dilute" sales of individual models because they have multiple slightly different models targeting different price points in the same segment, for example globally Toyota sells the Highlander/4Runner/Crown Signia/Prado/Landcruiser SUVs, Corolla Cross/RAV4/bZ crossovers, Corolla/Prius/Camry/Crown/Mirai sedans/hatchbacks. Each of these cannibalizes each others sales, but in toto sell more than any single model Tesla sells for a single segment globally.
They are the 14th largest car maker in the world by annual units sold, and almost in the top 10 by annual revenue from cars.
Surely that is good enough to maintain a market cap that is 50% higher than the combined market caps of the top 10 (Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai-Kia, Renault-Nissan, General Motors, Stellantis, Honda, Ford, BYD, and Suzuki)?