The Unexpected American Automaker More Profitable Than Ford Or GM

Ford and General Motors (GM) established themselves in the industry long before the push for sustainable car technologies started. Each is pretty much irreplaceable in the rankings of the biggest car brands. But while this still holds true when looking at revenue, neither of the two made the most profit recently among American brands. According to CompaniesMarketCap's rankings of publicly traded automakers by earnings, Tesla has already surpassed Ford and GM in terms of profitability. On the updated list, which is topped by Toyota with its $38.91 billion earnings, Tesla places seventh with its $8.05 billion, outpacing GM at ninth place ($7.01 billion and Ford at 11th place ($5.51 billion).

Tesla's placement not only shows how far it has come since its founding in 2003, but it also reinforces industry reports about Elon Musk's company earning more per electric vehicle (EV) sold than other brands. Ford built an empire on internal combustion engines, not only for itself but also for all the brands it owns. The same is true for GM and every car brand it owns. GM did dabble in EVs back in the '90s with its EV1 model, but it didn't go full force with this green effort until recently. If not for the mounting pressure from regulators and the stiff competition from the likes of Tesla, the two brands might not have taken the EV movement more seriously, knowing they stayed on top for years without offering electric cars and trucks.

As the auto industry is finally ditching fossil fuels for more sustainable alternatives, consumers are either forced to switch or voluntarily embrace EVs, especially since some car manufacturers have already stopped offering diesel engines. With this significant shift in the market, it's understandable why Tesla, a purely EV company, is seeing steady demand for its cars. Since 2022, the company's been delivering more than a million units to clients out of production per year, peaking at 1.8 million units in 2023. For comparison, such figures are smaller than what Ford and GM recorded in the same period. In 2024 alone, each legacy brand sold over 2 million vehicles in the U.S. market.

The lower unit sales for Tesla is a given, considering it doesn't offer vehicles for every segment the way Ford and GM do. And yet, Tesla records the bigger profit when expenses are accounted for. In 2022, Tesla's profit was at $12.6 billion, while GM had $9.9 billion and Ford lost $2.1 billion. In terms of revenue, Tesla posted $81.5 billion, while GM and Ford recorded $157 billion and $158.1 billion, respectively. So, how did Tesla end up becoming more profitable than its competitors? The answer lies in how much Musk's firm makes per EV sold, which is roughly $9,618. This figure is about five times more than what Toyota, the top car brand in the world, earns per car ($1,832). It's also higher than Ford's average $3,715 profit per vehicle and GM's over $2,000 profit.