You pretty much agreed to everything I've said lol

 

The problem is you are misunderstanding the difference between losing market share and demand. They have lost market share because other companies now sell EV's. But that has nothing to do with demand, which continues to grow YoY, which the sales numbers are all available, and they are even outselling cars like the Camry and RAV4

@swajames stated it perfectly: "there’s a significant difference between using price as a lever to defend against weak or declining demand and using price as a lever to proactively support and grow demand" which is what Tesla is doing the latter, because the numbers Tesla is selling every quarter is no way weak demand

 

Company loses market share
Company increases sales

BOTH can be true at the same time.

 

The Camry and RAV4 outsold every Tesla last year.

 

That's true, I don't deny it. Globally the Camry still probably outsells Tesla. But I believe that's going to change soon

 

Maybe. Eventually. Q1 was certainly good, but I think the first quarter of huge tax credits will probably be skewed. We will see with the end of year sales. So many variables. Economy. Supply chain. Interest rates. Credit crunch. Alienated customers that feel betrayed by his red p!11 moments. I''ve doubted Musk before, and he proved me wrong, so I'm not betting against him. But I do see Teslas that are ready for delivery piling up in my area. More than I ever remember before, and I do watch it.

 

Agreed, end of year will be the real test. But remember, a lot of buyers don't qualify for the tax credits, and you have to actually do your 2023 taxes next year to get the write-off if you do qualify

 

OK, a little manufacturing 101... Why lower prices?
Increase sales. Demand may be there, but if potential customers cannot afford the product, some demand will not be realized.
Maximizing production improves Factory utilization. Economies of scale in procuremennt. Spread fixed costs over more units; margin leverage.
Put the squeeze on competition. Every other mfr loses money on every EV. Ford lost $3b last year. CEO Barra forecasts their EV BU may be profitable next year. Heck, Ford is the only car company that breaks out EV financials. Got something to hide, everyone else?

Marketing 101... Market share.
Every non Tesla sold lowers Tesla's EV market share. But that's a myopic view; Tesla's SAM (served available market) is the vehicle market. Tesla outsold MBZ and BMW combined in US Q1. More than the mighty VW.
This year, the high price high margin Model Y will overtake the low price low margin Corolla as the #1 selling vehicle in the world of any kind. Now that's a good trick It is already the #1 vehicle in the world by revenue. Of course the Model 3 is right behind. The Highland will kick it up a notch.

 

strong growth over this time last year isn't surprising... remember the empty dealer lots?

 

A little accounting 101 for you, a public company doesn’t have to break out EV financials unless the CEO manages the business that way and actually gets and reviews those financials. If they do they are required to break that out and show an investor.

 

Certainly. The question is, what do they have to hide?

 

I did mention it was off a low base?

 

Its not about hiding. Every new product line or new business line will initially lose money from R&D, retooling and etc until volume picks up. Just like Ford doesnt break out financials for their F series truck, there's no reason for them to break out financials for the Mustang E or Lightning. Its just another model in the Ford lineup. Tesla was losing money hand over fist and was near bankruptcy like 5yrs ago. The security deposits for the Model 3 and Y saved them and if those two models were delayed like the Cybertruck, Tesla wouldnt be here unless they get bought out or a govt bail out.

 

Of course there are startup costs. But that is not a reason to bury results. In fact, if they were improvong, that would be a good thing for investors.
Ford breaks out its EV business unit. GM was losing $9K on every Bolt; I believe they are doing better, but still losing money. And the Bolt is not even an all new vehicle. Where is the transparancy? If the vehicles were profitable, you can bet "the big guys" would be blasting it out. Instead the bury the numbers inside their ICE business.

 

What idiot executive is going to come out and say our business is doom and gloom? The idiot executives. It will hurt consumer confidence and morale inside the company. If Ford chooses to break out financial info on their EV lineup, great, but its not a big deal.