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This is the kind of structural revenue loss that doesn’t show up until it’s too late. Tesla’s been skating on regulatory credits for years, essentially subsidiz

This is the kind of structural revenue loss that doesn’t show up until it’s too late. Tesla’s been skating on regulatory credits for years, essentially subsidized by the shortcomings of legacy automakers. Now that the training wheels are off, we’re about to see what the core business can actually do. I do wonder just how much Elon himself affects sales in the next few years. I for one have a moral obligation to make my next vehicle an EV, but I have an even greater obligation not to fund Musk.

SoftTalker 1y ago
Where "shortcomings of legacy automakers" means "selling cars that people want to buy"
jasonthorsness 1y ago
There's a great historical chart in the article: while the credits are a visible percentage of their revenue, I don't think you can go as far as "skating on regulatory credits for years". Although their absence will erase a lot of profit.
- avgDev 1y ago
  "Visible"? The carbon credit of $2.7 billion represented nearly 40% of their net income in 2024. 90% of the vehicles they sell also got the $7500 credit. They are in dire times.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 1y ago
  For Tesla, regulatory credit sales alone have brought in $10.6 billion since 2019. There are some quarters, like earlier this year, where credit sales exceeded the company’s total net income — meaning the company would have lost money without them. Sounds like a pretty big problem to me.
  - hnburnsy 1y ago
    >Sounds like a pretty big problem to me 2024 Revenue $97.69B Regulatory Credit Revenue $2.76B Net Income $8.40B Cash and Short-Term Investments $36.6B
7e 1y ago
I mean, Tesla sells these credits to legacy automakers, in part, to deliberately stall the EV programs of competitors. So they are complicit in the “shortcomings” of these automakers.