While Tesla has just asked its shareholders for two billion dollars, Axel de Tarlé is asking himself a question: will the company one day succeed in being profitable? A question which also applies to two other behemoths: Uber and Airbnb, which are in the same situation.
Tesla, Uber, Airbnb ... These stars of the new economy are much more fragile than it seems ... to the point that one can wonder about their future.
We are talking about absolute stars, who are worth tens, even hundreds of billions of dollars. And yet all of them lose money. And indeed, one wonders if they will win one day.
The proof again this Thursday: Tesla, the maker of electric cars, announced a new capital increase of two billion dollars. "Capital increase" is chic. Decoded, that means that Tesla is once again making the pockets of its shareholders ... by asking them for two billion dollars. Because the reality is very simple. Tesla has never made a single annual profit since its creation in 2003. And it is the same for Uber (VTC) or Airbnb (rental housing), who live only on the money brought by their shareholders.
But Axel, these companies are investing in the future ... right? A bit like Amazon which lost money for a very long time before earning it.
This is the story they tell, the "Amazon" myth. All these companies claim that they are the future Amazon, except that we can doubt it. First, concerning Tesla, one can wonder about the word of his Boss, Elon Musk, who I remind you, said he wanted to colonize Mars in 2024.
For Uber, its model, which consists of underpaid drivers, is increasingly disputed in the courts. As for Airbnb, in all the major cities, Paris, Barcelona, New York, Amsterdam, the mayors are passing laws to fight against the platform. For the moment these companies continue to operate by burning cash, because money flows freely, with rates at 0%. But for how long ?
You know, this formula of Warren Buffet, the famous investor: "It is when the sea recedes ... that we see those who swam without swimsuits."