The most important rule in investing is not to lose your initial capital. Making money comes later. If you lose 50% of your principal, the loss rate is 50%, but to recover that principal, you need a 100% return. This is because the baseline of your return—the principal—has already been halved. Many people tend to think that if they’ve lost 50%, they only need a 50% return to break even. However, this is a misunderstanding of the starting point. In investing, the baseline is always the original principal. The principal after a loss is no longer the same; it’s already in the past. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Tesla earns revenue through car sales, but its real profits come from other sources. Although Hyundai-Kia Motors sells more cars annually than Tesla, it does not have the same profit structure, which is unique to Tesla. Tesla capitalizes on environmental assets by selling carbon credits each year. While the company experiences overall losses in car sales, the sale of these carbon credits results in surplus income, positively affecting its stock price. Traditional automakers contribute to Tesla’s profitability by purchasing cars and paying fines for carbon emissions. This dynamic is also a key reason why Tesla establishes operations in regions with strict pollution regulations. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”