2024-02-15 17:08:43
Tesla can look forward to a record profit – but not from sales of its cars. The group has other sources of income.
The car company Tesla made significant revenue last year from a business area that is not directly related to the sale of its cars. Elon Musk’s company sells CO2 certificates, so-called regulatory credits, to other car companies – and earned around 1.79 billion US dollars (around 1.66 billion euros) last year. This emerges from corporate figures that the company has published.
The background to this are requirements for car manufacturers in some countries regarding the sale of electric cars. The more electric cars are sold, the lower the total amount of emissions attributed to a manufacturer. But many companies fail to achieve their goals – and this is where Tesla steps in.
EU regulations fuel the certificate business
Because it only sells electric cars, the US car manufacturer receives a large number of CO2 certificates. He can sell these for good money to competitors who cannot meet the regulations in China, the USA and Europe.
In 2023, the EU tightened the rules for vehicle manufacturers: cars may not emit more than 96 grams of CO2 per kilometer, vans may not emit more than 147 grams per kilometer. From 2025, these quantities will be further reduced. Companies that do not achieve these goals must pay penalties or can improve their emissions balance by purchasing CO2 certificates.
According to information from the business news agency Bloomberg, the business is quite lucrative. Since 2009, Tesla is said to have earned almost 8.4 billion euros in this way. According to the report, Tesla actually expected a decline in revenue because other car manufacturers also have more EV models on offer.
But the numbers speak a different language: Profits actually increased slightly compared to the previous year. And the prospects for the US market are still good: Ford has postponed investments in electric vehicles, General Motors is introducing hybrid vehicles again, reports Business Insider magazine.
Competition from China is growing quickly
In China, however, things look different. Sales of electric cars are booming there despite a rather poor consumer mood. Last year, the Chinese manufacturer BYD stole the top spot in China from the former market leader in the People’s Republic, the Volkswagen brand, with high discounts on its electric cars.
In the fourth quarter, the Chinese even overtook US electric car pioneer Tesla as the previous global market leader for electric cars. In 2023, Tesla says it will have sold 1.2 million Model Y models alone. Year-on-year, revenue from car sales rose by one percent, from energy sales by 10 percent, and from other services and sources of income such as CO2 certificates by 27 percent.