There appears to be a narrative amongst Tesla skeptics where the quantity of cars Tesla produces is compared to major auto makers to minimize Tesla’s achievements. Today I’ll dive into this and show why the narrative is incorrect.
Let’s take Ford as an example. They recently filed their 2017 annual report.
In the annual report, Ford says, “In 2017, we sold approximately 6,607,000 vehicles at wholesale throughout the world.”
Ford’s 2017 automotive revenue was 145.6B, which means that the average revenue per vehicle was roughly $22,000.
Ford’s gross margin on automotive in 2017 was roughly 10%, and their profit margin (before taxes) was roughly 5%.
So let’s put this into perspective. For an average priced $22,000 car the Ford sells, their gross margin is $2,200 and their profit margin is $1,100. On average Ford makes $1,100 per vehicle.
Now, let’s look at Tesla and the Model 3.
Tesla is aiming for 25% gross margin on the Model 3 and mid-teens profit margin (let’s say 14%). The average price of the Model 3 is projected at around $42,000 (but might even be higher if people go with more options).
In this case, the average gross margin on a Model 3 would be $10,500 and profit margin would be $5880. Compared to Ford’s average vehicle profit margin of $1100, the Model 3 would be 5x as profitable.
In other words, one Model 3 is worth in terms of profits the equivalent of 5 Ford vehicles.
So, if Tesla can sell 500,000 Model 3 and 500,000 Model Y (their small SUV due in 2020) annually, that would be 1M vehicles at an average of 5x the profitability of Ford’s vehicles. So the equivalent would be 5M Ford vehicles.
Let’s add in the Model S/X to the mix. Let’s say Tesla can achieve 30% gross margin, and a profit margin of 18%. (Note: historically gross margin for the Model S/X has been around 25% with the past 2 quarters lower due to Model 3 ramp. They can likely reach 30% gross margin with their new model refresh that will easier to manufacture). Profit margin on each S/X would be $16,200 (if we assumed a average sale price of $90k). That’s almost 15x as profitable as the average Ford vehicle.
So, 100,000 Model S/X would be the equivalent of 1.5M Ford vehicles in terms of profit.
Combine 1M Model 3/Y and 100k S/X and you have the equivalent of 6.5M vehicles from Ford.
Let that sink in. If Tesla can achieve what they’re aiming for, then just 1.1M of their vehicles would produce the same profit as 6.5M vehicles from Ford.
And Tesla would just be getting started.