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It took me a while to come up with an analogy for this one, but here goes:Let's pretend that you are an economics student looking to purchase a car and you decide to analyze the purchase decision using only "economic" metrics. What things might you consider?Do you have a job? If you do, and you lose your job, how hard would it be to find a new one? Is unemployment high in your town? How much do cars cost in your town? How many other people are looking for cars? Are cars cheaper in other towns? Will there be cars in stock for all the other people who want cars? What interest rate are you likely to get if you need to get a loan? Will you consider importing the car from another country? If so, what currency will I pay the buyer in and what is the exchange rate?After all these questions, you still don't know which car to pick! So, you call your friend who is a Finance student at the same university. Your friend helps you answer the following questions to help with your decision. How much of a car can you afford? What is your debt situation? Will you lease or buy? Should you buy the car now, or wait a year? How fast will it lose it's value? Will purchasing this car interfere with your ability to pay your student loan when it comes due? If you take money out of your savings to buy the car, what amount of interest you would otherwise have earned on your savings?You now figure that you have enough information, and you have selected your car. Now it's time to get a loan! But the story's not over yet....The Finance student decides to loan you the money to purchase the car, even though he has checked your credit report and realized that you probably won't pay him back. But that's OK, because he has made loans to other economics students as well, (who also might not pay him back). But that's OK, because the Finance student grouped those loans together, called them a "AAA Bond" and sold them to his friend in Iceland....A few years later your car has lost most of its value and you and your fellow economics students default on your loans. The guy in Iceland as lost all his money, your friend in Finance is now rich, and the global recession of 2007 has begun.Anyway, I digress....Finance and Economics are fairly broad subjects so I'll discuss in depth below. To answer your questions specifically, if you want to know how society generates wealth, that's an economics question. If you what to get the most out of your saving/investment decisions, that's Finance.Here are a few types of finance that you might study at University.1) Investment Finance: This is the process of managing an investment portfolio. Portfolios are constructed based on risk and return by the purchase of Stocks, Bonds and other derivatives. People in investment finance often work for banks, hedge funds, or investments firms. You could even work on the trading floor or a stock exchange.2) Corporate Finance: (This is what I do for a living) In corporate finance, "Financial Analysts (like me)" work on teams that do "Forecasts" as well as work on what we call "Planning and Analysis" projects."Forecasts" are usually done on 1 , 3, 5 and 10 year time horizons and lay out a set of internal financial statements for use in developing the "strategy" (internal) and "guidance" (external). Guidance may or not be reported to the "Street" (Wall Street). Analysts are then responsible for "reconciling" the forecast against the "actuals." Actuals are financial statements that contain information from the past (ie, quarters in which "the books" have been closed.)"Planning and Analysis" is usually defined as the act of analyzing a particular business decision (such as a new product launch) with the goal of maximizing the value of the company's investment decisions. Most companies use a decision based on a projects "Net Present Value" (NPV), though there are many other methods of determining the "value" that a business decision will deliver.3) Personal Finance: This is the act of developing personalized plans for individuals or families looking to plan for future events such as retiring or buying a house. People who work in this field are often called "personal financial planners" or personal bankers. People working in personal finance often purchase products created by people in Investment Finance. The goal of this type of finance is to maximize the return on investment for the amount of risk the individual is willing to take.4) International Finance: This is where the line between Economics and Finance begins to blur. International Finance is deals with exchange rates and Interest rates of different countries. People working in this field usually work to develops methods to reduce a companies exposure to different types of risk. They do this by creating a "Hedge" usually a form a derivative like a "Swap" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interest_rate_swap or other form of contract with either another company of a financial institution.Economics is generally divided into two different sub sections. Macro-Economics and Micro-Economics.1) Macro-Economics: This is the study of the activities that affect the economy as a whole. This includes the study of unemployment, inflation, growth, and monetary and fiscal policy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics2) Micro-Economics: This is the study of how firms and households allocate their resources. Micro-economics takes a deep look at supply and demand, and how this is used to determine the prices of goods and services.In summary, economics tends to be more theoretical and finance is generally more specific, but I think that you do need to know economics to succeed in finance, but you don't necessarily need to know finance to have an understanding of economics.

Let me invite you on a journey around the world: From the high streets of London … to Zhengzhou, a booming Tier II/III city in China … to Apple’s corporate headquarters in sunny California … to the Emerald Isle … and finally back here to Lower Manhattan.As we travel on this journey, I will try to explain how the money flows from that point-of-sale purchase to my brokerage account when the company pays out its quarterly dividend.This journey is interesting because it helps shine a light onto the increasingly complex and globalized world in which we live.(1) Retail — the Apple StoreI walk into the Apple Store on picturesque Regent Street in London’s posh Mayfair district. 15 minutes later, I stroll out with a base-level 64 GB iPhone X for £999[1].The money starts to flow as soon as I successfully input the PIN for my Barclaycard into the payment terminal:The U.K. has a 20% value-added tax[2] (similar to a sales tax in certain states in the U.S.) which means £167 comes right off the top to fund government and public expenditures.Since the iPhone was purchased with a credit card, another 3% or so is taken out by the payment processing companies, leaving the retail operation with a net total of £803 collected. If I had paid with cash, there would be some indirect cash handling expense that the retail operation would absorb (probably higher than 3%).For illustrative purposes, let’s say that Apple targets 20% retail margins to cover the costs of its beautifully designed Apple Stores. This means that the store is allocated about £161 per iPhone to pay for that expensive Regent Street rent, store employee salaries, Apple Geniuses, utilities, depreciation on the store’s capital improvements, etc.This leaves £642 that ultimately flows to Apple’s UK entity.(2) Manufacturing — A Globalized Supply ChainNow we need to hop on a Cathay Pacific flight from London to Hong Kong with a quick layover before transferring to a Dragon Air flight to Zhengzhou, a city in China that is about the size of New York City’s five boroughs … that many of you have probably never heard of.Don’t worry, though. These days even the locals simply refer to it as “iPhone City”.Zhengzhou is the capital of the densely populated, relatively impoverished Henan Province whose industrial economy had historically been centered around light textiles and food processing. Situated at the transition between the North China plain and the Qinling mountains, it is about a 4–5 hour (around 900 km) high-speed train ride from Shanghai.This is where Apple’s Taiwanese contract manufacturing partner Foxconn decided to locate its second major industrial operation after its main Shenzhen complex. With generous support from the local government, Foxconn spent hundreds of millions of dollars building out factory operations in an area that was specifically set up to export consumer electronics. For example, it is located in a “special bonded zone” that is legally considered foreign soil under Chinese regulation (doing it this way helps makes the logistics more efficient).In August 2010, the first lines at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory began production[3]. A little over eight years later, it produces around half of all of the iPhones in the world, churning out upwards of 500,000 per day.Along with 350,000 employees who work at the factory (during peak times), tens of millions of components from all around the world and other regions in China stream into Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory on a daily basis. Many of the semiconductor components are designed in one part of the world only to have their ECAD designs[4] electronically transmitted to Taiwan’s chip foundries for fabrication.Here is a summary of how the bill of materials (BOM) breaks down:My recently purchased base-level 64 GB iPhone uses an estimated $370 worth of materials and components[5]. Adding in around $35 in assembly and logistics costs and we are looking at a total BOM cost of around $405.The biggest cost item is the OLED display from Samsung, making up around 27% of the BOM. This is because Samsung is the dominant supplier of advanced OLED screen technology and is able to command premium prices[6]. It is also why Apple is pushing so hard to foster greater competition in the industry[7].Another notable component is the RF chipset supplied by Qualcomm. While a relatively modest 4% of the BOM, what is not included in the table above are additional 4G licensing fees that are paid separately by Apple. I’ll come back to this in the next section.Many of the other discrete analog and digital semiconductor components primarily supplied by U.S., German and Japanese fabless semiconductor designers are often fabricated in chip foundries in Taiwan (e.g. TSMC).Notably, China’s value-add to the BOM is relatively low and mainly comprised of more labor-intensive elements or less advanced components like the lithium-ion battery, packaging or simple accessories like the standard white Apple headphones. Overall I estimate China’s contribution to the BOM at around 13%.Okay, we’ve spent enough time in the “iPhone City”. We now need to catch our Air China flight from Zhengzhou to San Francisco via Beijing. We are heading to Silicon Valley.(3) Corporate — One Apple ParkThis is where the magic happens.Apple’s recently opened new headquarters[8] occupy 2.8 million sf in Cupertino, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Built at a construction cost of around $5 billion, it houses 12,000 highly compensated[9] employees.It is here (well, technically nearby at the old Apple Campus) that the iPhone and other Apple products were conceived and designed. It is where corporate executives like Tim Cook make big decisions about the next versions of existing product lines, the next advertising campaign, or how the company should allocate the product development dollars.And this is where — at this very moment in late 2018 — executives are likely debating whether it makes strategic and financial sense to diversify Apple’s manufacturing base outside of China by setting up another “iPhone City” in places like Vietnam[10].These corporate expenses are primarily fixed costs that you can amortize across the entire global revenue base of the company. As an example, in FY2018, Apple’s R&D expenses totaled $14.2 billion, or 5.4% of revenue. If we break it down on a per-unit basis, this comes out to something like $41 per iPhone sold [see Note i]:Between the £642 ($813) that flows into Apple’s UK corporate entity and the $405 BOM, you have $407 that flows back to Apple Inc. This money will be used to pay for:Corporate costs including sales and marketing, product development and general and administrative costsThese costs are mostly comprised of employee compensation, whether in the form of salary, bonus or stock-based compensation.Rent for all of the leased office space around the world; maintenance and depreciation for its owned properties.Spending is heavily concentrated in Cupertino/California although Austin, Texas[11] is rapidly turning into Apple’s version of “HQ2”[12].Apple also spends heavily on brand advertising.Global licensing fees / QualcommAs I alluded to above, Qualcomm is entitled to collect royalties on any device that connects to a 3G or 4G network (which includes basically all smartphones).This is because of patents and intellectual property that it created (and acquired) over the years, primarily around a “channel access method” called code-division multiple access (CDMA) on which almost all modern wireless standards are based today.Moreover, the licensing agreements that it negotiated many years ago stipulate that it collects a percentage of the entire “final sale” price of the smartphone — so as these devices have gotten more complicated (and more expensive) over time, Qualcomm has collected more revenue.As you might imagine, this is causing a lot of friction along a number of fronts — many companies are questioning why Qualcomm should collect the same percentage (or any percentage at all) on peripheral components that have nothing to do with wireless.This is one of the primary reasons why so many other companies are focused on building their own IP portfolios for the next generation of wireless standards (5G). This article from Macro Polo[13] discusses the whole saga in detail and I would recommend reading it if you have time.In any case, what this means for Apple is that it has to pay 3.5% of the final sale price of the iPhone to Qualcomm (with “final sale price” capped at $400 to $500[14]).After paying off all of its corporate expenses and (reluctantly[15]) cutting a massive check to Qualcomm, there is $281 left. This equates to 27% of the net revenue collected on Regent Street. Apple’s overall operating margin is 27% … so this passes the sanity check [see Note ii].(4) The Tax Man“We all know this deal is as certain as death and taxes.” — from Meet Joe Black, one of my all-time favorite movies.Apple is enormously profitable. In its last fiscal year (FY2018: 12 months ending 9/30/2018), it generated $72 billion of earnings before taxes. That is $72 followed by 9 zeroes. And the Tax Man is salivating at the sight of all of that taxable income.Historically, the U.S. corporate tax rate was 35%. Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the corporate rate was lowered to 21%. Including state-level corporate taxes, the average corporate tax rate is 26%[16]. Apple is a U.S. company headquartered in California, so all we have to do is multiply the $72 billion by 26% and call it a day, right?Wrong.In FY2018, Apple provisioned $13.4 billion in corporate income taxes, which comes out to an 18% effective tax rate. That’s 8% lower than the prevailing rates. How is this possible?The reason is that tax rates are different all around the world, so multi-national corporations (and their accountants) are always trying to figure out how to legally lower the amount of taxes they have to pay. For uber-profitable companies like Apple, the stakes are massive — each 1% reduction in your effective tax rate is $700 million of additional net income.Technology companies are especially good at this, because much of what they are selling is “intangible” (i.e. software, intellectual property, etc.) and they also tend to sell globally which means the flexibility of multiple tax jurisdictions to play with. So even though the IP assets that Apple develops are mostly created in Cupertino and the United States, from a legal and tax perspective, the IP is actually located outside of the country.This is why instead of flying to Washington, D.C. where the IRS’ headquarters are located, we are now boarding an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin, Ireland.Photo: Sharp Magazine: The Travelling Man — Dublin, IrelandIn the aftermath of World War II, while most of Western Europe boomed on the back of the Marshall Plan and post-war reconstruction, Ireland was held back by its “economic nationalism” resulting high tariffs and import substitution policies. Its economy stagnated and the country entered the 1980s with high levels of public debt, 20% unemployment and a public sector that accounted for a third of the workforce[17].Economic reforms starting in 1987 led to reduced public spending, lower taxes and increased competitiveness — especially for global capital. The government made a major effort to lure technology companies such as Intel and Microsoft. In the 1990s, its economy finally began to pick up and soon people were talking about Ireland as the “Celtic Tiger”[18]. In less than three decades, Ireland went from being one of the poorest countries in Western Europe to one of its wealthiest.One of the areas that helped Ireland attract so much foreign investment was favorable tax policy. Without getting into the details[19], Ireland enacted policy that made it possible for companies to shift profits on intangible assets like software and patents from higher-tax locations to lower-tax ones. For global technology companies like Apple, this is the main reason why its effective tax rates are so much lower than the prevailing tax rates of its primary tax domicile in the United States.And this is the reason why wee little Ireland features so heavily in Apple’s annual report[20]:When Apple sells its products overseas, the vast majority of the profits remain offshore. Bringing this cash onshore would require Apple to pay something called a “repatriation tax” to the IRS. Leaving it offshore means that it can delay its payment. Instead, this cash can be used for overseas acquisitions, or perhaps they can wait for the U.S. government to issue periodic “repatriation holidays” to try to coax that money back home. But more often than not, the offshore cash is parked in government and corporate bonds [see Note iii].Out of approximately $257 billion in cash (and equivalents, including bonds) held by Apple, about 93% of it is sitting offshore[21].In any case, the corporate income taxes that Apple does pay — mostly from profits on its U.S.-generated revenue — comes out to about $39 per iPhone. This leaves $243 in after-tax profits.(5) The ShareholdersTime to head home. I hop on a United flight from Dublin to John F. Kennedy Airport. I head home, fire up my PC, log onto Quora on one screen and my trading platform on another.This is where we wrap up our journey following these money flows around the world.The $243 in after-tax profits belongs to the bondholders and equityholders in the company. More accurately, nearly all of it ends up with the equityholders.Let’s start with the bondholders: Apple has about $115 billion in outstanding bonds that pay lower rates than the U.S. government (less than 3%). It pays out about $3.2 billion in interest expense, which is actually more than offset by over $5 billion it earns from interest income on all of its offshore bonds.Now some of you might be wondering why such a profitable company like Apple needs to issue bonds. This is where we turn our attention to the shareholders (disclosure: I am one of them).The reason is because Apple wants to return capital to shareholders by repurchasing its shares. However, to repurchase its shares, it needs to use onshore cash and as we learned above, getting that offshore cash onshore means paying the repatriation tax.But some enterprising investment bankers figured out a while ago that instead of repatriating the cash, Apple could come up with the cash by issuing onshore bonds that are indirectly collateralized by all of that offshore cash (and all of the other assets of the business). Because it’s Apple, the interest rates are almost negligible. Now Apple can take this newly raised onshore cash and buy back its shares without having to pay the repatriation tax.On top of share buybacks, Apple pays dividends on a quarterly basis. In FY2018, Apple paid out close to $14 billion in dividends. November 8th, 2018 was the most recent ex-dividend date for Apple shareholders[22]. The cash showed up in my brokerage account a week later. For every share you held prior to that date, Apple paid out 73 cents.Since announcing its original Capital Return program in 2012[23], Apple has returned approximately $249 billion to its shareholders via share buybacks and $74 billion via dividends. These share buybacks have allowed Apple to reduce the number of shares outstanding by 25% since 2012. This creates value for shareholders because it means that one share you hold today entitles you to a much larger share of future profits than one share that you held back in 2012 (split-adjusted, of course).The vast majority of Apple shares are held by Americans, either directly or indirectly via index funds, mutual funds, hedge funds or their pensions. This means that Americans have disproportionately benefited from the enormous amount of value created (and partially returned) by Apple over the years.SummaryThank you to the brave few that have stuck with me on my journey all the way to the end. Your reward is the last, and most important table — how all the various money flows get split up by country:As you can see very clearly, the United States takes the highest share of economic value-add. This is even in the scenario we imagined above where the iPhone is sold overseas (i.e. the U.K.) in a jurisdiction that charges relatively high consumption taxes.For iPhones that are sold here in the United States, the fraction of economic value-add that circulates back into the American economy is over two-thirds once you factor in the retail operations.Think about that for a minute: Apple has 132,000 employees (note: this figure includes many lower-paid retail workers), many of whom are located overseas. Yet the American economy is able to capture over 70% of the economic value of an iPhone. Foxconn has well over a million people in China working to assemble iPhones and other Apple products — yet is only able to capture 13% of its value. Let’s keep this in perspective next time we hear complaints about how advanced economies are getting “screwed over” by globalization.Finally, one of the big ironies is despite the massive surplus value that Apple clearly creates for the American economy, the way that global supply chains and international trade accounting work, Apple products actually add to our bilateral trade deficit with China[24]. This is why it is so important to understand how the money flows really work — so that you can avoid enacting trade and other policies that can end up completely backfiring.Explanatory Notes[Note i] The average ASP per iPhone sold was $766, not the £999 retail price. 5.4% of $766 is $41.[Note ii] On top of hardware sales, Apple also collects significant ancillary revenue: its 30% cut of iOS apps and in-app purchases, search fees from Google[25], etc. Operating margins on iPhones sold in the store should also have slightly lower margins than those sold online due to lower overhead costs. Finally, margins on iPhones are typically higher than margins on iPads, Macs and other Apple hardware products.[Note iii] With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, changes in the tax system have reduced the disincentive for companies to repatriate taxes back to the United States[26]. Following this, Apple announced that it was going to start repatriating its cash over an 8-year period[27]. While it seems likely that this change the onshore/offshore cash dynamic, history has shown how the amazing creativity of investment bankers and accountants when it comes to creating new and sophisticated tax structures.Footnotes[1] iPhone Xs UK release - Best deals, prices and how to pre-order new Apple flagship[2] VAT rates[3] How China Built ‘iPhone City’ With Billions in Perks for Apple’s Partner[4] Electronic design automation - Wikipedia[5] IHS Markit Teardown Reveals What Higher Apple iPhone 8 Plus Cost Actually Buys[6] Samsung's OLED iPhone display supply dominance challenged[7] China breaks into Samsung's OLED dominance[8] Apple Park - Wikipedia[9] How Much Is The Average Salary Of An Apple Employee? | Cult of Mac[10] Glenn Luk's answer to Is Vietnam likely to implement the economic system that China currently uses and the Asian Tigers as well as Japan formerly used?[11] Apple is spending $1 billion on a new campus in Austin[12] How did NYC woo Amazon to Long Island City?[13] From Windfalls to Pitfalls: Qualcomm’s China Conundrum - MacroPolo[14] Qualcomm's patent deals aim to ease Apple, regulator tensions, exec...[15] Chinese court upholds Qualcomm's complaint that Apple infringed on two patents[16] US Corporate Income Tax Now More Competitive | Tax Foundation[17] Economy of the Republic of Ireland - Wikipedia[18] Celtic Tiger - Wikipedia[19] Ireland as a tax haven - Wikipedia[20] https://s22.q4cdn.com/396847794/files/doc_financials/quarterly/2018/Q4/10-K-2018-(As-Filed).pdf[21] Are you a robot?[22] Apple Inc. (AAPL) Ex-Dividend Date Scheduled for November 08, 2018[23] Apple Announces Plans to Initiate Dividend and Share Repurchase Program[24] Glenn Luk's answer to What can the US do to bring back 25% of the manufacturing being outsourced in China right now in 10 years?[25] Google is paying Apple billions per year to remain on the iPhone, Bernstein says[26] Evaluating the Changed Incentives for Repatriating Foreign Earnings[27] Apple's plan to repatriate $285 billion in cash to the US could be a big boost for investors

Simply THIS:Tesla is solving a global age-old problem that has defeated many companies in the past, and succeeded in a sector where others have tried—and failed.As we speak, many motor vehicle manufacturers will go bankrupt unless they embrace the electric technology—which they’ll probably lease from Tesla.Tesla Roadster [Image Credit: Tesla Inc. | Google]Can you imagine what will happen if the electric car gets into every home in the future?Do you remember the PC revolution of the 80s? Well, it’s just like the PC revolution all over again.[Photo Credit: Toru Hanai/Bloomberg/Google]No need for gasoline. No need for gas pedals. No need for brake pedals. The car knows how to brake on it’s own once you release the accelerator. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s almost unbelievable. It’s almost like you’re seeing a futuristic sci-fi movie—only this time, you’re in the movie.The Tesla revolution is something analogous to the PC revolution of the 1980s, except this time it is being applied to transportation. If you’re not familiar with the car, it is almost equivalent to something you see in sci-fi movies. In fact, it’s not even a motor vehicle—it’s a transportation contraption. The technology is closer to computers than your conventional motor vehicle. Everything about it is software-driven from the ground up—from the combustion-free engine to the drive mechanism, to the single accelerator without brakes.If you know software, you’ll be more comfortable with this car because it’s the closest you can get to state-of-the-art artificial-intelligence. The ignition system is triggered by a smart card. Don’t worry if you lose your smart card. The car cannot move, so too bad for car-thieves. You can still start the car from your smart phone or inbuilt dashboard computer.What I found crazy about the Tesla is that it doesn’t have a spare tire—something we’re all used to. It uses advanced technology to figure out the rate at which the tires are deflating.Then, I have to talk about the car battery system because that’s something of a marvel. Actually the battery system is the engine of the car. Sounds crazy? That’s because it is.The Tesla battery system is a closely guarded secret. If you know some history, you’ve probably heard of Nikola Tesla—the guy who is accredited with a series of futuristic inventions including electrical and mechanical designs.You may be wondering why I praise the car so much—no, I neither work there nor am I an affiliate of Tesla. Neither am I a shareholder, although I’m seriously considering that.Well, the guy is also accredited with contributions to modern designs of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. In case you were wondering, that’s whom the car is named after.The battery technology is borrowed from earlier designs by Nikola Tesla himself, and adapted to suit modern demands.[SOURCE: Tesla Motors, Inc.]Ooh! And did I forget to mention that the battery begins to re-charge itself automatically the moment it senses that you are losing acceleration? Remember the brain behind the entire car is a computer?Wondering how to charge your Tesla? The best place is at home—by leaving it on the home charging equipment overnight. But you can also do it on the highway at your nearest Tesla shop. Anyway, it’s a no-brainer as the car can travel for anywhere between six to twelve hours, depending on the model.In their own words, this is how they describe the battery system on their website:“By now most people know that the Tesla Roadster is powered by Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries. But here are a few things about our batteries you might not have heard. Our battery system – or Energy Storage System, as we like to call it – is comprised of 6,831 individual Li-ion cells. It's roughly the size of a storage trunk and weighs about 900 pounds. Nestled securely in the back of the Tesla Roadster, the battery system is the secret behind our four second 0-60 mph acceleration and phenomenal driving range. To achieve this kind of performance, we were meticulous about our battery technology selection.”[1]Anyway, we cannot understand where we are unless we learn a bit of where we came from.The first gasoline engine was built in Germany in 1876, when Nikolaus August Otto invented the first gasoline-fueled, four-stroke cycle engine. By 1885, Gottlieb Daimler had invented the prototype of the modern gasoline engine.[Photo Credit: LiveScience/Google]The following year in 1886, Carl Benz began the first commercial production of motor vehicles with internal combustion engines. By the 1890s, motor cars reached their modern stage of development.That represents more than 130 years of carbon emission and the gasoline race that has released millions of tons of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which peaked at 409.8 ppm (parts per million) in 2019.Effectively, the Industrial Revolution was the genesis of greenhouse gases.Collectively, cars and trucks contribute to nearly one-fifth of all US emissions, releasing around 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases for every gallon of gas. Carbon emissions from petroleum-powered vehicles add .35 pounds of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere per passenger mile.Before the mid-1700s, the global average amount of carbon dioxide was about 280 ppm (parts per million). Here’s a graph showing the level of ppm from 1750–2019:[Image Courtesy: NOAA]The following pictures tell a gruesome story:[Photo Credit: Google/GETTY Images][Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Google]Effects of global Warming [Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images/Google]Melting Polar ice caps [Photo Credit: Roxanne Desgagnés/Unsplash]Nature has not been spared either. Oil-spills have perhaps caused some of the most heinous devastation in nature.Seals devastated by oil-spills [Photo Credit: Google]Turtles not spared either [Photo Credit: Google]Birds are not spared [Photo Credit: Melissa Phillip/Associated Press/Google]Marine life has been the most affected by oil-spills.Dolphins and other marine life destroyed by oil-spills [Photo Credit: TRUTH WIRE/Google]Now, to answer your question,Tesla is contributing a solution to a century-old problem. It may not solve all the problems associated with gasoline or greenhouse gases, but it’s a starting point.But Tesla is also solving another problem. As you know, gasoline is not only expensive but also dangerous, credited with millions of accidents around the world, as a result of fuel and gas-induced fires and explosions.Tesla will not only contribute immensely to clean energy, but also, will eventually help bring the cost of running motor vehicles down to below what it is today. And investors like that. Investors also like the fact that electric cars are the future, and they’d love to be part of it.Investors can also see the brains behind Tesla. Elon Musk is a man who doesn’t understand failure. His CV is littered with a series of failures, but the man only regards failure as a stepping stone, and thinks failure only comes when you give up. Giving up is not in the DNA of Elon Musk.Currently, Tesla is unable to meet the growing demand, which explains why the share price is rising exponentially, even amid the rising global pandemic levels.You might be interested to know that on November 23, 2020, Elon Musk overtook Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person with a net worth of over $128 billion compared to Gates’ $127.7 billion.The 49-year old chief executive officer of Tesla, overtook Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates after the electric car company he helped found 17 years ago soared in market value to more than $500 billion, leapfrogging his wealth by $7.2 billion, ahead of Tesla’s debut on the S&P 500 Index.Tesla shares started soaring after the automaker reported that it delivered about 90,650 vehicles in the second quarter of 2020.That handily beat Wall Street expectations as the electric car maker’s sales withstood the economic downturn occasioned by the pandemic better than most competitors.Earlier this year, Tesla opened its factory for the Tesla China-made Model Y program in Shanghai, China, which will only help to drive the share price upwards.Even though it sells far fewer vehicles than its industry competitors, Tesla’s share price has risen more than 500% over the last year, making it one of the most highly valued car companies in the world.Earlier in August, Tesla’s share price closed at a record $1,374.39 jumping more than 6% in extended trading, prompting its board to approve a 5-for-1 split in its soaring stock. This effectively gives 5 extra shares for each ordinary share held by its shareholders.Although this further dilutes Elon Musk’s shareholding, it gives him more value because as more people can afford the share, demand for the share will effectively skyrocket.Earlier, the share price continued on its upward trend jumping to $594.14 on Thursday, December 3. The share fell shy of hitting the $600 mark on Friday, but closed at a record-high of $599.04 on Friday, December, 4 at 19:59 GMT-5. The projections for the Tesla share price looks very bullish for the foreseeable future, and may soon hit the same level where it was before the split as early as next year.So, assuming that all factors remain equal, this beast of a car, will continue driving the Tesla stock to unprecedented highs only seen before at Apple, Inc. during its height.Further reading:Tesla's Success Is Good News For Everyone - ForbesFootnotes[1] A Bit About Batteries