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Tesla is now more profitable than Ford and GM despite selling far fewer vehicles in Q1

Credit: Tesla Inc.

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Tesla may be the rising star of America’s automotive sector, but for the longest time, Detroit giants General Motors and Ford have held significant advantages over their younger rival. Ford and GM still tend to deliver far more vehicles per quarter than Tesla, and they also tend to earn more money than the EV maker. The latter is no longer true. 

During the first quarter, Tesla reported a net income of $3.31 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 658%. In Q1 2021, Tesla earned $438 million. In comparison, GM posted a net profit of $2.93 billion in the first quarter, a 3.04% year-over-year decrease. Ford, despite the success of vehicles like the Mustang Mach-E and the strength of its F-Series, posted a net loss of $3.1 billion in Q1 2022, partly due to its investment in electric truck maker Rivian. 

Tesla already dominates its American-born peers in the automotive sector in terms of market cap, with the company currently being valued at over $900 billion, and that’s after a substantial dip that’s likely aggravated by CEO Elon Musk’s recent TSLA selloff. General Motors currently has a market cap of $56.57 billion, while Ford is currently valued at $59.24 billion. 

It should be noted that Ford and GM still delivered far more cars than Tesla in the first quarter. The EV maker announced that it had delivered 310,048 cars in Q1 2022, which is still far behind Ford’s 970,000 and GM’s 1.427 million. Despite delivering less cars, Tesla still made more money than its more experienced Detroit-based rivals. 

According to The Street, Tesla was able to accomplish this due to a variety of factors. One of these is the company’s adjusted EBITDA margin in Q1 0222, which increased to 26.8% in the first quarter from 17.7% last year. GM’s adjusted EBIT margin was at 11.2% in the first quarter, while Ford posted an adjusted EBIT margin of 6.7%. 

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Tesla seems to have accomplished this through a variety of novel strategies. Arguably one of these is the company’s savings on traditional advertisements. Tesla spends $0 on ads, relying instead on word-of-mouth and CEO Elon Musk’s online presence on Twitter to spread its brand image. Both Ford and GM are big ad spenders, with the latter spending $2.22 billion in advertisements in 2020, according to Statista

With Tesla now taking the crown of most profitable American automaker, there are only a couple more titles left for the EV company to claim. One involves the number of vehicles produced and delivered per year, and another is revenue. Vehicle deliveries and production may still take some time as Tesla only has four working EV factories today, but in terms of revenue, the electric car maker may be getting a shot sooner than expected. 

In the first quarter, GM’s revenue was listed at $35.98 billion, while Ford posted $34.48 billion. Tesla’s Q1 2022 revenue was listed at $18.76 billion. 

Disclaimer: I am long TSLA.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla adjusts Online Design Studio for easier trade-in process

Tesla has a great trade-in program that allows you to give the company your vehicle in exchange for cash, even if it’s not an EV. Their trades are mostly fair, but the company seems to undervalue its own vehicles, and there have been plenty of complaints over offers in the past.

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(Credit: Tesla Asia | X)

Tesla has adjusted its Online Design Studio to make for an easier trade-in process, reflecting the details of the exchange for a more accurate reflection of payment terms.

Tesla has a great trade-in program that allows you to give the company your vehicle in exchange for cash, even if it’s not an EV. Their trades are mostly fair, but the company seems to undervalue its own vehicles, and there have been plenty of complaints over offers in the past.

Trade-ins are usually given by submitting vehicle details, then Tesla sends an email with an offer. Offers are non-negotiable, but do adjust over time, although the latest offer is valid for 30 days.

I traded my ICE vehicle for a Tesla Model Y: here’s how it went

Knowing your new Tesla’s cash price, leasing or loan details, and monthly payment information used to be done by the car buyer. From personal experience, I simply subtracted my trade-in from the cash price of the Tesla Model Y, and I plugged those numbers into the payment calculator.

Now, Tesla is implementing the trade-in process directly into the Design Studio. It will adjust the price of the car and the different monthly payment methods automatically:

The change is already noticed in a handful of states, including California, but it has not rolled out across the board quite yet. It will be implemented in all of the U.S., as well as Canada, this coming week.

The trade-in process is very simple, and after you accept your offer, you simply drop your vehicle off during the delivery process. Making this simple change will be greatly appreciated by owners.

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Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Robotaxi will hit five new cities in the United States in the coming months, the company confirmed.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

The Robotaxi suite is a ride-hailing service Tesla offers, but the details of it change with each jurisdiction, as regulations vary. For example, in Austin, Tesla can operate the Robotaxi suite without anyone in the driver’s seat, as long as the vehicle does not enter a freeway.

Credit: Tesla

In the Bay Area, a Safety Monitor rides in the driver’s seat, essentially acting as the vehicle operator with Full Self-Driving controlling the car.

The local regulations and how Tesla handles them will continue to be a relevant part of the discussion, especially as the company aims to expand the Robotaxi program to different areas. This has been a primary focus of the company for several months, especially within the United States.

CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla was aiming to launch Robotaxi in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. However, the company detailed five specific cities where it will launch Robotaxi next during the Annual Shareholder Meeting on Thursday.

Tesla will launch Robotaxi in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and Miami next, broadening its Service Area for the suite to more major cities across the U.S.

It has said it plans to offer the service to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year, but it does not seem as if it will expand to more than a handful of cities this year, which is still tremendous progress, all things considered.

As far as autonomy is concerned, Tesla has always had lofty expectations and has made some even loftier statements.

At the Shareholder Meeting, Musk said that the company would likely be able to enable vehicle owners to text while the vehicle drives, alleviating them from potentially having some of the responsibility they have behind the wheel.

Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’

It is not confirmed that Tesla will roll this out in the next few months, but Musk said there is a possibility.

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Tesla launches another new Model Y trim at a bargain price with massive range

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched yet another new Model Y trim level, but this time it is in China, and it is at a bargain price.

It also has an insane range rating.

On Friday, Tesla launched the new Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive in China, priced at 288,500 yuan ($40,500), an incredible deal considering it is not a stripped-down version of the vehicle like the Model Y Standard.

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

The big appeal with this new Model Y trim is obviously its price, but its range rating is also one of the best we’ve seen. Rated at 821 kilometers on the CLTC scale, it converts to 510 miles. It uses a 78.4 kWh CATL battery.

Converted to real-world range, however, that 821-kilometer range rated by the CLTC actually is equivalent to about 357 miles on the EPA scale, which is still a very respectable number and comes in at a higher range than the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive configuration that is available in the U.S.

Tesla has truly brought a wide variety of Model Y trims to the Chinese market, including a new Model Y L configuration that features a slightly longer wheelbase, as well as additional interior features like extended thigh legrests and captain’s chairs with armrests.

It is unclear whether Tesla will bring a Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive option of the Model Y to the U.S., especially as it has already rolled out four configurations of the all-electric crossover in the market. With the new Standard offerings, Tesla will likely keep its lineup as simple as possible.

However, the company has hinted that there is a slim possibility the Model Y L could come to the U.S. sometime late next year, but CEO Elon Musk said that it is not a guarantee.

Tesla is more concerned with self-driving efforts in the U.S., and despite calls from customers for larger vehicles, it does not seem concerned with making them available, at least not for now.

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