In June 2020, Tesla (Tesla) hit an all-time high of US$1,135 per share during intraday trading, and its market value reached US$207.7 billion at the close, surpassing Toyota (Tesla)'s US$204.2 billion, becoming the world's largest car manufacturer by market capitalization. At the end of August of the same year, on the last trading day before Tesla launched its first stock split ( Tesla divided 1 share into 5 shares to promote stock circulation), the stock price even soared above the US$2,000 mark. ; Standard & Poor's, the world's authoritative credit rating agency, announced at the end of the year that Tesla would be included in the S&P 500 Index (S&P 500). As of the close of trading on January 7, 2021,
's stock price hit US$816, and its market value reached US$774 billion, making it the fifth largest listed company in the United States by market value, ranking ahead of Facebook and second only to , Apple, , , Microsoft, , and Amazon. , after Google parent company Alphabet. As for CEO Elon Musk, who was not promising at the beginning and was on the verge of bankruptcy, but still insisted on investing in the dream of electric vehicles, he once became the world's richest man, dethroning Elon Musk, who has held this position since 2017. Amazon founder Bezos (Jeff Bezos).
stock price soars! Tesla has become the fifth largest company in the United States by market capitalization ( Tesla TSLA has restored its share price trend before the spin-off for the first time)
For decades, the automobile market and supply chain structure have basically been dominated by Volkswagen (Volkswagen) , Toyota , Ford (Ford) and other traditional car manufacturers dominate. It was not until Tesla was established in 2003 and Musk became CEO in 2008 that the first product, the pure electric sports car Roadster (discontinued in 2012), was released, that the automotive industry ecology changed. Tesla has also become the only emerging young car brand in the United States to achieve mass production in the past 90 years.
Technological innovation and complete product lines have become first-mover advantages.
Different from traditional car manufacturers, when developing electric vehicles, they are based on the production experience of fuel vehicles. Tesla electric vehicles are completely started from scratch, which is both a challenge and a challenge. It is also an advantage.
In less than 20 years, Tesla has launched 4 models, including the Roadster, electric sedans Model S and Model 3, and then the electric SUV Model Model Y, as well as the electric large truck Semi and the electric pickup truck Cybertruck, it is also expected to launch the second generation of the new electric supercar Roadster in 2022.
Although major car manufacturers have joined the electric vehicle market in recent years, Tesla is still the market leader due to the completeness of its product lines.
From sports cars and sedans to large trucks, Tesla has launched a variety of models to target different needs. Its electric pickup truck, the Cybertruck, has shocked the market with its avant-garde appearance and bulletproof design.
In addition to the environmental protection trend, technological innovation is also an important reason for the rise of Tesla .
is first of all a breakthrough in battery technology. For example, in 2017, Tesla and Panasonic (Panasonic) jointly built a super battery factory (Gigafactory) in the United States and began to produce higher-density and cheaper "2170 lithium batteries."
However, the lithium batteries currently used in Tesla vehicles mainly come from companies such as Panasonic, LG and Ningde Times. Even if all suppliers are operating at their maximum production capacity, Tesla believes that Tesla will face serious problems in 2022. Batteries are in short supply.
To this end, Tesla has begun to develop and produce its own batteries, and has successively submitted many battery patent applications since 2020, including electrolyte additives that reduce costs and make batteries more durable, and nickel cobalt manganese (NCA) electrode synthesis , new battery configuration design and other technologies.
The third-generation wall-mounted charging stand launched by Tesla has Wi-Fi connection function and can be connected to mobile phones.
Autonomous driving technology has set off a global fan craze
The second is the progress of autonomous driving technology. In 2019, Musk released his own self-driving car chip at the " Tesla Autonomy Investor Day" and announced that it would be fully introduced into newly produced models.
In 2020, Tesla further released the "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) test version, which sparked a frenzy among fans around the world, and many road test videos appeared on the Internet. There are even American car owners who use the FSD function to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles . During the approximately 600 kilometers of the journey, the driver only intervened to control the vehicle three times: twice to stop for charging, and the remaining time when entering downtown Los Angeles. Later, gravel suddenly popped up on the roadside, and we intervened out of caution.
And software services like FSD have also become an important source of revenue for Tesla . Tesla is expected to launch FSD subscription service in early 2021. Different from the previous one-time buyout model, the subscription system allows more car owners to experience FSD functions at a lower threshold. This business model is somewhat similar to Apple (Apple), after selling iPhone, iPad and other hardware devices, it continues to make profits from the software in the App Store. And compared with one-time businesses such as selling vehicles and parts, software service revenue is highly sustainable and has a high gross profit margin, which is expected to be around 70% to 80%. This is also the reason why Tesla has been able to continuously reduce the price of the entire vehicle.
The Tesla Model S, which is positioned as a pure electric luxury coupe, will receive its first facelift in 2021. In addition to the updated steering wheel design, the 17-inch screen with built-in PS5 game functions is also a highlight.
bid farewell to the bankruptcy crisis and move towards the popular electric car market
Today, Tesla is sought after by investors and consumers at the same time, becoming the world's leading electric car manufacturer. In fact, the road to fame is not always smooth. In 2017 ~2019, Model 3 production capacity was under extreme pressure for a long time. Musk recalled that both production and logistics were like hell at that time, and it was once on the verge of bankruptcy.
Today's output is still the biggest pain point of Tesla . Although in the 2020 production capacity and vehicle delivery data released by Tesla , Tesla delivered more than 490,000 vehicles throughout the year, almost completing Musk’s goal of 500,000 vehicles, but compared with traditional car manufacturers For example, if General Motors sold 7.7 million vehicles in fiscal year 2019 and BMW targeted 2.5 million sales, Tesla still has a lot of room for growth.
News review website Electrek pointed out that although Tesla has captured 18% of the market share and has become the leader in the electric vehicle market, as of 2020, electric vehicles only account for about 3% of the global passenger car market, and business opportunities are still waiting to be discovered. development.
It is reported that Musk often works more than 100 hours a week, and in emergencies, he even works more than 120 hours a week.
In order to actively seize the market, Tesla will start from three aspects: model, price and production capacity. The Cybertruck, released at the end of 2019, is expected to begin mass production in the second half of 2021. Tesla will also launch affordable electric cars priced at US$25,000 in the future, which is also highly anticipated by the public.
As for the much-anticipated production capacity, Musk is obviously confident. He first estimated at the 2020 Tesla third quarter financial report meeting that the total number of vehicles delivered in 2021 will reach 840,000 to 1 million.
In early February 2021, Musk revealed on the voice social platform Clubhouse that Tesla will steadily move towards the ultimate goal of delivering 20 million vehicles per year, which is expected to be completed in 2030; although this number is nearly 500,000 delivered last year 40 times the volume, and last year no car manufacturer delivered more than 10 million vehicles annually.
However, the changes brought by Tesla are obviously not limited to the traditional automobile market, but also include the ecological aspects of transportation and supply chain electrification, automation and intelligence, and even have a huge impact on the entire history of industrial development.
