How Tesla makes money in 2022

    Tesla does not only sell Model 3s and Model Ys, even though these two electric cars are now its biggest successes and its main sources of revenue. In the last three months, a record 366,000 cars were produced. Up 8% on the stock market, Tesla is expected to report an operating profit with a 50% quarter-on-quarter growth thanks to these very good results.

    But how does Tesla make money? With such high production volumes, the answer seems obvious. But Tesla can't be worth more than $680 billion on the stock market by delivering "only" one million cars, while Toyota is worth $298 billion with a production ten times bigger. In fact, while its cars account for 96% of its profits, they account for 85% of its total revenue. 15% comes from its other businesses, and here's what they are.

Where does Tesla's revenue come from?

    Last quarter, Tesla recorded $16.9 billion in revenue. Of that, cars and the sale of its four electric models accounted for $14.6 billion. Then there are two other categories that are well promoted by the company. There is the electric production and storage, which represents 5% of total revenues, for $866 million generated in the second quarter. Finally, for a 9% share, Tesla includes its "services and others", which includes shop services, out-of-warranty repairs and used car sales.

    Automotive: 86% share of revenues for $14.6 billion
    Services and other: 9% revenue share for $1.47 billion
    Energy production and storage: 5% revenue share for $866 million

    Energy production and storage is an important part of Tesla's business. Its prospects are numerous as the brand now makes it possible to create "virtual power plants". In many markets, both commercial and residential, electrical storage is becoming important. For many municipalities as well, it is a way to better manage resources and prevent potential outages.

    That said, not every Tesla business is equally profitable. The gross profit from its cars is now far more important than the rest. So we end up with a much more uneven split in the second quarter:

    Automotive: 96.4
    Services and other: 2.3
    Energy production and storage: 1.3

The future of Tesla and its revenues:

    Does this mean that Tesla only makes money and creates value through its four marketed models? Yes and no.

    Yes, because on the one hand, this is where it makes all its profits. And because production will continue to increase as factories are deployed around the world and demand grows. The arrival of new models is also an important component. Tesla is preparing the arrival of the Tesla Semi, its truck with tens of thousands of pre-orders, and its Cybertruck.

    But Tesla's ambition is not just to sell cars. Its energy business is far from being marginal and Elon Musk showed, during his last "AI Day" conference, that the commercialization of a humanoid robot is coming. Finally, mobility will largely be achieved through car-sharing and robot cabs at Tesla, which will no longer necessarily see its cars as products, but as services. For this to happen, the brand still needs to solve its autonomous driving problems, which have led to a number of delays.