Investor's Corner
Tesla Model 3 recognized as the United States’ best-selling luxury car in 2018
The Tesla might still have a number of critics who question the vehicle’s demand, but the electric sedan has practically dominated in 2018 nonetheless. By selling a total of 145,846 units over the course of the past year, the Model 3 has established itself as the United States’ best-selling luxury vehicle, far outpacing its closest competitor.
After the Tesla Model 3, the second in the past year’s luxury vehicle rankings is the Lexus RX, which sold 111,641 units in 2018. Following the Toyota-made Lexus RX are more luxury SUVs from legacy carmakers from Germany, such as the Mercedes-Benz GLC, which sold 62,435 units, and the Audi Q5, which sold 61,835 over the year, as noted in a report from CNBC Make It.
The Model 3’s place at the top of the US’ luxury vehicles list is a notable feat for the electric sedan, especially considering Tesla’s challenges with the vehicle’s production ramp. In the first quarter of 2018, for example, Tesla was only able to produce 9,766 Model 3. During this time, Tesla was struggling to hit a milestone of producing 2,500 Model 3 per week.
After adopting unorthodox strategies such as the construction of another assembly line inside a massive sprung structure on the grounds of the Fremont factory, Tesla’s second quarter proved to be an improvement over Q1, with the company producing 28,578 Model 3 from April to June 2018. Q2 was also the first time production of the Model 3 exceeded the numbers of the Model S and X.
Tesla’s breakthrough with Model 3 production came in the third quarter when the company doubled its Q2 volume and produced 53,239 units of the vehicle. Despite what Elon Musk described as “delivery logistics hell,” Tesla was able to deliver a total of 55,840 Model 3 to customers before the quarter ended. These efforts ultimately allowed Tesla to surprise Wall Street and prove its naysayers wrong by posting $6.8 billion in revenue and beating earnings estimates with a GAAP profit of $312 million.
The Model 3 continued to be produced in mass quantities in the fourth quarter, with the company producing 61,394 Model 3. Deliveries for the vehicle also hit 63,150 in Q4, signifying a 13% growth over the vehicle’s already impressive figures in Q3 2018. Over the course of the year, Tesla ultimately delivered a total of 245,240 vehicles, 145,846 of them being the Model 3. That’s nearly as many cars the company sold in all previous years combined.
Inasmuch as the Model 3 is already being recognized as a success in the US luxury car market, the electric sedan is yet to start its push into international markets. So far, Tesla is already laying the foundations for the Model 3’s push in two large global markets — Europe and China. The company is reportedly looking to send 3,000 Model 3 per week to Europe by February. To prepare for the influx of Model 3, Tesla has begun rolling out Superchargers that are equipped with both a Type 2 and a CCS plug, which matches the port on Model 3 that are produced for the region.
Elon Musk has noted that deliveries of the Model 3 could begin as early as March in China. This, however, is but the tip of the iceberg for the company’s plans for the Model 3 in the country. Earlier this week, Elon Musk attended the groundbreaking event for Gigafactory 3, which will be tasked to produce affordable versions of the Model 3 and the Model Y for the Chinese market. In true Tesla fashion, the company has an aggressive timetable for the upcoming factory, with Musk stating that the first China-made Model 3 could roll out of Gigafactory 3 by the end of 2019.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for
SpaceX filed its public S-1, revealing $18.7 billion in revenue and billions in losses.
SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, making its financial details available to the public for the first time ahead of what could be the largest IPO in history.
An S-1 is the formal document a company must submit to the SEC before going public. It includes audited financials, risk factors, business descriptions, and how the company plans to use the money it raises. Companies are required to file one before selling shares to the public, and it must be published at least 15 days before the investor roadshow begins. SpaceX had already submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in April, which allowed regulators to review the filing privately before it went public.
The S-1 reveals that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet division, which posted $11.4 billion in revenue, growing nearly 50% year over year. Despite that growth, the company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 and has burned through more than $37 billion since its founding.
SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
A significant portion of those losses trace back to xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which was recently merged into SpaceX. SpaceX directed roughly 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, totaling around $20 billion, yet that division lost billions and grew revenue by only about 22%.
SpaceX plans to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the offering. The dual-class share structure means going public will not meaningfully reduce Musk’s control, as Class B shares he holds carry 10 votes per share compared to one vote for public Class A shares.
The company is targeting a raise of around $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The investor roadshow is reportedly planned for June 5.
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon just joined forces for one reason: Starlink is winning.
America’s three largest wireless carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, announced on On May 14, 2026 that they had agreed in principle to form a joint venture aimed at pooling their spectrum resources to expand satellite-based direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity across the United States in what can be seen as a direct response to SpaceX’s Starlink initiative. D2D, in plain terms, is technology that lets a standard smartphone connect directly to a satellite in orbit, the same way it connects to a cell tower, with no extra hardware required.
The alliance is widely seen as a means to slow Starlink’s rapid expansion in the satellite internet and mobile markets. SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile service launched commercially in July 2025 through a partnership with T-Mobile, starting with messaging before expanding to broadband data. SpaceX secured access to valuable wireless spectrum through its $17 billion deal with EchoStar, paving the way for significantly faster satellite-to-phone speeds.
SpaceX was not shy about its reaction. SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell responded on X: “Weeeelllll, I guess Starlink Mobile is doing something right! It’s David and Goliath (X3) all over again — I’m bettin’ on David.” SpaceX’s VP of Satellite Policy David Goldman went further, flagging potential antitrust concerns and asking whether the DOJ would even allow three dominant competitors to coordinate in a market where a new rival is actively entering.
Weeeelllll, I guess @Starlink Mobile is doing something right! It’s David and Goliath (X3) all over again — I’m bettin’ on David 🙂 https://t.co/5GzS752mxL
— Gwynne Shotwell (@Gwynne_Shotwell) May 14, 2026
Financial analysts at LightShed Partners were blunt, saying the announcement showed the three carriers are “nervous,” and pointed to the timing: “You announce an agreement in principle when the point is the announcement, not the deal. The timing, weeks ahead of the SpaceX roadshow, was the point.”
As Teslarati reported, SpaceX’s next generation Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current system, with custom silicon and phased array antennas enabling around 20 times the throughput of the first generation. The carriers’ JV, which has no definitive agreement, no financial structure, and no deployment timeline yet, will need to move quickly to matter.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is targeting a Nasdaq listing as early as June 12, aiming for what would be the largest IPO in history. With Starlink now serving over 9 million subscribers across 155 countries, holding 59 carrier partnerships globally, and now powering Air Force One, the carriers’ joint venture announcement landed at exactly the wrong time to look like anything other than a defensive move.
SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for
Tesla scales back driver monitoring with latest Full Self-Driving release
