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January 9, 2020 12:45 am

No, Tesla Is NOT the Largest US Automaker Ever

An anonymous reader shares an excerpt from a CleanTechnica report: Over the last couple of days, as Tesla continues on this monstrous run, the media seems to have been noting that Tesla is now more valuable than any U.S. automaker's market cap ever. (Tesla is currently almost exactly the market cap of Ford and GM combined, around $88 billion.) Even though I would now plant myself firmly in the "bull" camp, this is completely untrue, and I think it paints a problematic picture of Tesla. Let's get right to it -- Tesla is not the most valuable U.S. automaker ever because Tesla's market cap does not have just Tesla automobiles in it. Currently, especially to outsiders, Tesla's automobiles are the most visible aspect of its business. The problem is Tesla's business is so much more diverse and will affect so many other major industries in the future that calling Tesla an automaker is akin to saying that Google is the most valuable phone company. Sure, Google makes phones, but taking just that aspect of its business into account while ignoring the rest and then claiming it's the most valuable phone company is a mistake at best, and deceitful at worst. I sort of get it. GM doesn't produce HDTVs and Ford doesn't have a wing that runs theme parks or something, so a lot of "analysts" think of Tesla in a similar, narrow-minded way and think Tesla should only be valued based on its automobile business. Tesla's valuation includes its energy (solar and battery) division, autonomy business, and Supercharger network, which is "currently the only capable, nationwide electric vehicle 'refueling' standard," the report says. After you deduct the valuations of those divisions, Tesla becomes "a $30 billion automaker," which makes it "currently the smallest U.S.-based automaker." In conclusion, CleanTechnica's Frugal Moogal writes: "My point is simply this -- if you're out there parading around the fact that Tesla is the most valuable U.S. automaker ever, you're missing the bigger point. The market is starting to value the rest of Tesla's business, and what I think we're seeing is the beginning of the largest vertically integrated energy and transportation company."

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