Tesla delivers: Tesla's delivery numbers are solid, but its valuation demands perfection — and more

1/5/21 7:00PM

Delivering on the hype?

‍Another year, another set of delivery & production numbers from Tesla. The electric vehicle maker may have had a record year on the stock market — with its share price rising more than 570% — but what about its actual operational performance?

On Saturday Tesla reported that the company had delivered a little over 180,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter — leaving them just shy of half a million vehicles delivered for the year. That's a new high for Tesla, and it seems to have pleased investors, with the share price up another 4% this week.

As solid as those numbers are, it's still hard to marry them with the valuation being ascribed to Tesla at the moment. At its current share price Tesla is worth about the same as the next 8 automakers combined. Taking just one of those rivals — Volkswagen Group — as an example highlights just how much smaller Tesla still is in terms of cars sold. For the 11 months January-November, Volkswagen Group delivered 8.3 million vehicles, including 1.5 million Audis and 241k Porsches.

‍2020 was a very good year for Tesla's actual business, and an obscenely good year for its share price, but selling and delivering 180,000 cars will eventually need to be done in a month, or a week, for Tesla to live up to its great expectations.

Max Knoblauch14h

American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

American Airlines updates bag fees and Basic Economy fares

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Max Knoblauch15h

Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.