Tesla Crushes Q2 Delivery Estimates, May Become Eligible for S&P 500 Inclusion [$222B Market Cap]

[Hamartia Antidote]

https://www.thestreet.com/tesla/news/tesla-q2-delivery-and-production-report-2020-tsla

Tesla (TSLA) -Get Report today reported second quarter deliveries of 90,650 vehicles, up 2% quarter-over-quarter. Per FactSet, the quarter-end analyst consensus delivery estimate was 72,149 vehicles.

Tesla's deliveries in the first half of the year totaled 179,146 vehicles, up 13% from the first half of 2019 in a more challenging macro-environment.

Production
In addition to reporting deliveries, Tesla reported second quarter production of 82,272 vehicles, down just 4.5% year-over-year despite significant production downtime due to the impacts of COVID-19.

Quarterly Profit and S&P 500 Inclusion?
With Tesla's delivery numbers in the books, investors will turn their attention to the company's Q2 earnings report which is expected in late July. If Tesla is able to post a GAAP profit, they will clear the final requirement to become eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500 index

In past quarters when Tesla's deliveries have exceeded 65,000 vehicles, the company has reported quarterly GAAP profitability five out of six times. The lone exception was Q2-19, a quarter with profitability headwinds from restructuring and foreign exchange losses, the ramp of the lower-margin Standard Range Plus Model 3, and the introduction of the "raven" powertrain on Model S/X causing discounts on outdated powertrain vehicles. Deliveries in Q2-19 totaled 95,356 vehicles.

In the final days of Q2-20, Elon Musk urged Tesla employees to make a final push for "breaking even" on the quarter.

“Breaking even is looking super tight. Really makes a difference for every car you build and deliver. Please go all out to ensure victory!” - Elon Musk

Musk appeared to be satisfied with the end-of-quarter effort, sending an email the morning after quarter close to express his gratitude.

“Just amazing how well you executed, especially in such difficult times. I am so proud to work with you!” - Elon Musk

While Musk's emails are no guarantee of profitability, it is clearly a possibility. At its current valuation, Tesla would enter the S&P 500 with a top-25 market capitalization among the index if it were to be selected.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-rally-propels-elon-musk-past-charles-koch-net-worth/
Tesla’s monster rally propels Elon Musk past anti-EV oil baron Charles Koch in net worth

Tesla stock has been on a tear recently, with the company receiving a boost from its stellar second quarter delivery numbers. But even before TSLA shares hit new all-time highs on Thursday’s intraday, the electric car maker’s rise ended up pushing CEO Elon Musk a bit higher up on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, thanks to his net worth of $53.4B as of Thursday. With this, Musk actually ended up surpassing the net worth of the US’ premier oil baron, Charles Koch, who is listed in the Index with a net worth of $51.5B.

As of Thursday, Musk stands as the 16th richest person in the world. Koch, meanwhile, stands as the 18th on the list. Granted, Musk’s net worth is tied directly to Tesla and SpaceX’s valuation. However, Musk’s rank today does stand as a symbolic victory for the CEO, considering that he and Koch could not be any more different with regards to their stance on the environment.

Elon Musk is now the 17th richest person in the world, his net worth is $51.7B. Just surpassed Charles Koch, bye bye Big Oil!! pic.twitter.com/2JiLoRXIhr

— Elon's World (@ElonsWorld) July 1, 2020
Update: As of today he is now the 16th richest person in the world, wow pic.twitter.com/XKXozg0TBj

— Elon's World (@ElonsWorld) July 1, 2020
Charles Koch is the chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries, which is widely considered as the second-largest closely held business in the United States, operating in oil refining, pipelines, commodities trading, ranching, and paper pulp, among others. Charles Koch and his brother, the late David Koch, are regarded as oil barons, and both have been active in promoting the fossil fuel industry.

Musk and the Koch brothers actually bumped heads somewhat back in 2016, following a report from The Huffington Post alleging that the oil barons were funding efforts to strike back against the rising popularity of electric vehicles, one of them being the Tesla Model S. The HuffPost report, citing refining industry sources, noted that a Koch Industries board member and veteran energy lobbyist will be involved in the anti-EV initiative.

Sigh …https://t.co/VelOzAKIW6

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 19, 2016
Incidentally, the Institute for Energy Research (IER), a firm registered by Charles Koch and energy expert Robert L. Bradley Jr., actually published an attack against the Tesla Powerwall, claiming that the home battery system (which was then at its Gen 1 version then) would take nearly 40 years to pay off. This prompted a response from Tesla, which called the IER report “elementary at best.”

Worth noting that all gasoline cars are heavily subsidized via oil company tax credits & unpaid public health costs https://t.co/4li5E013Dj

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 19, 2016
Elon Musk personally responded to The Huffington Post report as well, expressing dismay at the Koch’s anti-EV initiative. In a follow up post, Musk highlighted that the fossil fuel companies, as well as vehicles that run on the internal combustion engine, are actually “heavily subsidized via oil company tax credits,” as well as “unpaid public health costs.”

Tesla stock has risen further on Thursday’s trading, propelled by the company’s positive Q2 report. With this in mind, Elon Musk may very well rise further in the billionaires’ list soon. Interestingly enough, Musk is known to invest most of his wealth on his own company’s projects. Thus, it appears safe to assume that most of the CEO’s fortune today would likely be used to either accelerate Tesla’s mission of ramping sustainable technology, or SpaceX’s mission of making humans multiplanetary.