__As you Musk know...__ __[Tesla](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TSLA)__ shares hit full speed lately — they're up 38% in just the last month. Now Tesla's officially become *the most valuable American car company in history*. Here's how that value got calculated:

- __["Market Capitalization"](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/GByCbiOluG2kcWs1AF6m5/what-is-market-capitalization/):__ A company's stock price multiplied by the total number of shares. It's the total value of a company based on its stock price.
- Production just started at Tesla's new Chinese Gigafactory — and __China bought nearly 3 times as many electric cars as the US did__ [in 2018](https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2019).  
- That's why __Tesla's market cap has risen to $85B__ — beating Ford's $81B [record](https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-is-now-the-most-valuable-u-s-car-maker-of-all-time-11578427858?tesla=y&mod=article_inline) from '99.
- Today, __[GM](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GM)__ and __[Ford's](https://robinhood.com/stocks/F)__ market cap is __$87B__ — *combined*.  

__Here's the crazy thing...__ Tesla's 2019 profits and car deliveries *pale* in comparison to GM and Ford's:

- __Cars produced per year:__ GM and Ford produced a combined 39x as many cars as Tesla did in 2019 (14.3M vs. 367.5K).
- __Profits over the past year:__ Tesla's profit was -$827M (negative, AKA a big loss). GM and Ford's combined profit was over $10B (AKA actual money-making).


_GM to Ford: "How'd they get that big with such little numbers?!"_

Soar

__Investors care less about today, more about tomorrow...__ Stocks can rise as shareholders believe a company's profits will grow in the years to come. Tesla's cars scream "future" (electric + cyber), while Ford and GM's preach the past (trucks/SUVs + gas). Investors think 17-year-old Tesla has better profit *potential* than 112-year-old GM and its even older Ford brother.

Tesla just became the most valuable US car company. Ever.

__We've got no beef with pork...__ __Impossible Foods__, the privately-held alt-meat startup and __[Beyond Meat](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BYND)__ rival, just launched a new plant-based meat: Impossible Pork. At the risk of not saying pork enough times, Impossible's not porking around here: 

- __Resources:__ Impossible is doubling its Research & Development team so it can whip up more plant-based [*insert animal here*] that tastes like the real thing. 
- __Results__: Impossible [unveiled](https://www.cnet.com/news/impossible-foods-pork-is-here-and-its-scary-similar-to-the-real-thing-meatless-plant-based/) its new pork and sausage products at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday (Impossible Sausage hits Burger King on Jan. 13).
- __The trade off:__ Since it's focusing on new products over its existing faux beef ones, Impossible officially [stopped competing](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-impossible-foods-mcdonald-s-corp-excl/exclusive-impossible-foods-abandons-pursuit-of-mcdonalds-burger-deal-idUSKBN1Z62GJ) for a huge/exclusive __McDonald's__ plant-based burger partnership.


__"The most significant science project and business endeavor in the world"...__ That's [according](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ces-2020-impossible-foods-to-add-pork-and-sausage-to-menu-ahead-of-possible-ipo-2020-01-06) to Impossible's CEO, whose environmental concerns back his boasting. Pork is Earth's #1 consumed meat, and Impossible thinks beef is *so* 2019. Plant-based meatopians love to [remind us](https://www.beyondmeat.com/about/): pea/soy burgers require 99% less water, 93% less land, and create 90% less greehouse gas than their real beef brethren.

_Impossible Foods concocting its pork strategy_

Plant

__Impossible chose research over production...__ Resources are limited, and companies need to choose where to invest their time/cash. Impossible chose to focus on a new product (pork) rather than more of its existing product (beef). Now, rival Beyond Meat may snag that lucrative plant-based spot in McDonald's burger buns. That's why Beyond shares jumped 12% even though Impossible revealed a new product and partnership.

Impossible Foods goes ham on plant-based pork

__Classic case of rich company, poor stock…__ Over the last 3 years, __[Goldman Sachs](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GS)__’ shares have barely budged. Meanwhile, its big bank buddies pop bottles — __JPMorgan__ and __Bank of America__ stocks both rose over 50%. So here’s Goldman’s self-diagnosis: *severely un-transparent corporate reporting structure*. Now it’s changing:

- __Symptoms:__ Goldman’s 4 divisions were too obscure. Institutional Client Services, Investment Banking, Investing & Lending, and Investment Management (leaning hard into “Investing”).
- __Prescription:__ The WSJ reports that Goldman will [switch](https://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-sachs-lifts-the-veil-to-woo-skeptical-shareholders-11578394803) to 4 way-clearer divisions based on customer type: Corporations, Trading Firms, Money Managers, and Individuals (like you and us).

__This is how bad it got…__ Want to know how Goldman’s Apple Card did last quarter? Good luck. Goldman's consumer banking performance was buried in its “Investing & Lending” division, along with a bunch of big loans and venture investments. Like a box of chocolates, investors couldn’t tell what was inside Goldman behind all that corporate structure scar tissue.


Reveal

__Investors reward transparency…__ and that’s why Goldman’s transparent-izing itself. This new corporate structure could reveal to investors critical Goldman insights — like how’s its 3-year-old, millennial-obsessed, digital consumer bank Marcus is actually doing. Investors are more down to reward Goldman stock if they can actually see what’s in it.

Tesla just became the most valuable US car company. Ever.

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