> They never had a profitable year. I think you're trying too hard. Is Tesla overvalued? Very overvalued? Reasonable debate to have given where the market cap

> They never had a profitable year. I think you're trying too hard. Is Tesla overvalued? Very overvalued? Reasonable debate to have given where the market cap is at now. However Tesla very obviously isn't being valued today based on whether they turned a profit in the past. Companies aren't valued by their profit from five years ago. That they have never had a profitable year, doesn't dictate whether they will in the future. Tesla has grown by nearly 300% in 3.x years. The market is primarily concerned about growth and cash burn rate, limiting excess red ink, not that they must immediately generate immense profit. Tesla has also shown a drastic improvement in their operating picture. From negative $1.6 billion in operating income in 2017, to negative $252m in 2018, to positive $80m in 2019, to positive $841 million in the last four quarters. Investors tend to pay attention to direction in particular, betting on where the company is going.