Tesla Burns Through $2 Billion In 2017 (theverge.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Tesla reported record revenue for 2017, floated by customer deposits of the recently announced Semi truck and Roadster sports car. Despite its optimistic sales numbers, Model 3 production issues and cash flow problems haunt the company, but Tesla insists its on track to meet its production goals of 5,000 cars a week by mid-2018. Tesla reported $3.3 billion in revenue, which was expected, but also posted a $771 million quarterly loss -- its largest quarterly loss ever. The company reported a negative free cash flow of $276.7 million. And it reported a net loss of $2.24 billion in 2017, a significant increase over the $773 million net loss it reported in 2016.

Comments

Re:Many people: "TESLA IS A FAILURE"

[Anonymous Coward]

No you are wrong. Tesla loses money on every car it sells. Cite: Tesla cash flow statements - see cash flows

Tesla has been losing for 14 years. If they can't make money while they control the market for EVs, they will get their asses kicked. Tesla will never be profitable enough to give an adequate return on all that capital that has been dumped into it. It was a nice dream, but it going to go the way of Iridium. Some one will buy the assets in bankruptcy and turn it into something successful - hiring a competent CEO. The current shareholders and bondholders will lose.

Too much stupid money in the stock markets

No problem for the company

[Trogre]

Tesla is really going places in 2018.

Re:Smart with money

[WindBourne]

His personal tesla was launched into space, because SPACEX had to launch some weight. This was cooler than simply putting in lead.
Solar CIty was doing fine, except towards the end, a number of companies were targeting SC. And now, SC, who has 1/3 of the installation, will be back to do so.
Huh. Tesla sold a product at a profit that has now saved Aus. state gov millions of $. As such, nearly all of the Aussie states want to work with Tesla so that all make money. And yes, Tesla made money on that contract.

Re:Tesla is a success ... at graft

[Rei]

http://www.latimes.com/busines...
http://www.businessinsider.com...

Let's parse.

Tesla Motors Inc., SolarCity Corp. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, together have benefited from an estimated $4.9 billion in government support, according to data compiled by The Times.

So you start off by pretending that SpaceX and Tesla are the same company. Clever move! What is this "government support"?

New York state is spending $750 million to build a solar panel factory in Buffalo for SolarCity. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company will lease the plant for $1 a year. It will not pay property taxes for a decade, which would otherwise total an estimated $260 million.

Wow, OMG, a state government gave financial incentives for a large company to build a factory in their state. This has never happened before in the history of business! Except bloody always, but apart from that, OMG!

Nevada has agreed to provide Tesla with $1.3 billion in incentives to help build a massive battery factory near Reno.

Stop the presses again!

That's nearly half of the $4,9B in the article, and it's just your standard "incentives to get a large company to move to your state" game that all large companies play.

The federal government also provides grants or tax credits to cover 30% of the cost of solar installations. SolarCity reported receiving $497.5 million in direct grants from the Treasury Department.

All solar installers received this; it is nothing SolarCity specific. You could start a solar installation company yourself today and receive tax credits.

The Palo Alto company has also collected more than $517 million from competing automakers by selling environmental credits.

Same story. The other automakers wouldn't have sold credits had they actually made the ZEVs that the legislation was intended to make them produce. And any automaker could get the credits.

Meanwhile, everyone shoulders the huge financial costs of air pollution from fossil fuel power (the healthcare costs alone from the worst coal plants can be up to 45 cents per kWh). But I know you want to slap down renewables with everything and give fossil fuels a pass for everything, so let's keep going!

Since 2006, SolarCity has installed systems for 217,595 customers, according to a corporate filing. If each paid the current average price for a residential system — about $23,000, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists — the cost to the government would total about $1.5 billion, which would include the Treasury grants paid to SolarCity.

Oh, so now we're taking in subsidies to consumers and pretending that they're subsidies to SolarCity? Clever girl! But okay!

But wait, that article was just for $4,9B (and that includes SpaceX). Where did your other $3B come from? Oh right, this:

The California state Assembly passed a $3-billion subsidy program for electric vehicles, dwarfing the existing program.

So we can now play the game where we pretend that Tesla gets all of that! But of course, we know that there are other other EV manufacturers; again, any company cam make EVs and get incentives. But let's go with it. How much money does Tesla