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Thanks, I didn't know that. For 2019, GM had R&D costs of $6.8B. They sold 2,887,888 cars in the US and 7,710,000 worldwide. Per car, that would be either $2,35

Thanks, I didn't know that. For 2019, GM had R&D costs of $6.8B. They sold 2,887,888 cars in the US and 7,710,000 worldwide. Per car, that would be either $2,355 or $882 depending on whether the R&D number is a worldwide roll up (I'd think yes?). Either way, adding the $6.8B to their gross margin number for 2019 would have increased automotive gross margins from about 10% to about 15%. Tesla's 2019 automotive gross margin was 21%. MRQ was 24%.

reitzensteinm 6y ago
Your figures are correct, sorry, I did a quick back of the envelope and as you suspected compared worldwide R&D with US sales. Yeah, I'm not claiming Tesla has bad margins, just that the figures on the balance sheet aren't apples to apples. 10% vs 21% compared to 15% vs 21% makes a huge difference. It's a 40% gap instead of a 110% gap.