Discussion»Questions»Business» Puzzlement. Tesla sold fewer cars and lost money. Ford sold more cars and made money. Why is the stock market value of Tesla higher?
Tesla is advancing electric & hybrid vehicles, an expanding business likely to attract investors looking for long-term, future dividends in innovative industries. Meanwhile stricter environmental rules in many major countries now mean the builders of internal-combustion cars etc having to plough more of their sales profits into research and development, which is not so attractive to the stock-market.
(Note that battery-driven electric vehicles are by no means new. They were being produced in the early 20C but were soon overtaken by petrol, later Diesel, engined versions. Modern technical developments and environmental concerns have brought about something of a renaissance.)
My knowledge of those early 20C developments is from a contemporary professional electrical engineers' text-book I own.
I have another of similar age, which confidently predicts there is enough power available from rivers (via turbines) around the world, for everyone's needs. We're long way from that, 100 years later and with a far larger peopulation!
Durdle 