Tesla · 03
Tesla is about to go bankrupt. Always has been, always will be.
The claim you picked Tesla is about to go bankrupt. Always has been, always will be.
The 2018 “production hell” scare was real. The 2026 version of the meme is a zombie. Demand cycles are not Chapter 11.
Short sellers had a point in 2017–2019: the Model 3 ramp almost killed the company. Tesla then scaled, printed GAAP profits in multiple years, stacked a large cash pile, and became one of the world’s most valuable automakers. People who made that bet at $20 (split-adjusted) and never updated the spreadsheet are doing folklore.
None of that makes Tesla immortal. Price cuts, a messy 2024–2025 demand patch, competition from BYD, and brand-politics whiplash are real business risks. “Going bankrupt next quarter” has been a broken clock for a decade. Treat it as a risk factor, not a prophecy.
Key figures
- Near-death
- 2008 and ~2018 were the actual cliffs
- After
- Scale, cash, and a still-volatile demand curve
- Meme
- Bankruptcy call has survived every missed appointment
Sources
- Tesla financials Tesla IR
