> they reached agreements to buy federal greenhouse gas credits from Tesla.<p>In other words it's not much of a statement about Tesla, it's just a credit system working as intended. Tesla has credits left over because they don't sell ICE cars, GM predicts that if the next president is Democrat they might need more credits so they buy now while they are cheap.
> <i>GM’s credit purchases illustrate how challenging the U.S. fuel efficiency requirements are getting, even for automakers that are adding more zero-emission vehicles to their lineup.</i><p>Hardly. It mostly illustrates how many trucks and SUVs they sell.
~$200M/year, and it isn't a strategic cash infusion, they have to.<p>"Tesla has generated almost $2 billion in revenue from selling regulatory credits since 2010"<p>"If [other car-] manufacturers don’t sell enough non-polluting vehicles, they have to purchase credits from competitors like Tesla to make up the difference."<p>How much is that relatively?<p>TLSA 2018 revenue: $21B net income: -$1B
Wasn't this reported two months ago?
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/8/18300393/tesla-fiat-chrysler-credits-european-union-emissions-fines" rel="nofollow">https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/8/18300393/tesla-fiat-chrysl...</a>
Something is not working with this carbon credit market, the article says demand for electric cars is not there so the auto makers can't generate their own credits. Yet people who are into EV cars view the big three as well as the German marques as not even trying.<p>I bet that selling the credits was never in the Tesla business plan. But it is now!
Not the first time an established car manufacturer prevents Tesla from dying. Ten years ago, in 2009, Daimler Benz invested about 50 million USD into Tesla for a 9% stake. This saved them. Not my words, but Elon's: <a href="https://www2.greencarreports.com/news/1074375_elon-musk-daimler-saved-tesla-doe-loans-a-bad-idea" rel="nofollow">https://www2.greencarreports.com/news/1074375_elon-musk-daim...</a>
Environmental Credits seem more like a scheme than anything else. It sounds like politicians giving lip service to the people while keeping lobbyists happy.<p>Regardless, it’s nice to see GM and FCA are benefiting Tesla is some ways. It would be really interested to see a powered by Tesla GM/FCA car. Tesla provides engines and battery and the other carmaker makes a car around it. A partnership with a huge car company could help Tesla with production issues and provide a cash boost.