The graphs below were produced by Capital Market Labs.
From a business standpoint, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)'s promise is not solely related to auto manufacturing. Its pledge -- and risk -- goes well beyond that.
Tesla is an alternative energy company.
Below, the chart shows all auto manufacturers in the world with market caps larger than $15 billion. One-year revenue growth percentage is plotted on the x-axis, while one-year gross profit growth is on the y-axis.
There's Tesla, and then there's everybody else.
So, who are Tesla's real peers?
Let's take a look at the amount of money the company spends on research and development (y-axis) compared to capital expenditures (x-axis).
Numerically speaking, Tesla appears to be in a new, different sector of car manufacturers.
Ophir Gottlieb can be found on Twitter @ophirgottlieb.
Image credit: Steve Jurvetson, Flickr
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