Business model…
We’ll lose a little bit on each car, but make it up in volume.
🙄😂
The case of Tesla is a lot like Amazon. They lose or lost money for many years but the capital markets float them the cash. Ford can't go out and raise $50 billion from investment funds. They can (or could). So these companies can lose money knowing they have capital reserves and ways to tap more.
Tesla has been able to make some profits by selling carbon credits - whatever scam that may be. Longer term, Tesla may be able to generate recurring revenue from their charging stations (say, $20 per charge I think is roughly the going rate here in CA) and various accessories. They bought SolarCity (which iirc was founded by himself and his brother) and sell the entire package from rooftop panels to in-home battery packs to power a home. They also have incredible technology inside the cars some of which is only minimally operational due to regulations. But that tech may be licensed to other manufacturers in time.
They may also make a mint on repairs; and heaven help those who will eventually need to replace their batteries. May be more value to the owner to just buy a new car than swap all the batteries.