That’s non-GAAP. Google says VW 2018 profit was actually. €13.92 billion, on revenue of €235 billion.
Most of that difference was due to €3 billion in fines for lying about the level of toxic emissions of their Diesel engines.
Apparently they feel like that shouldn’t fully count against them in their annual report. [1] Maybe a company which has demonstrated it is willing to commit fraud to coverup its level of pollution shouldn’t be able to call the fines “one-time” charges, since the likelihood of recidivism is high.
VW shipped 10.8 million vehicles to Tesla’s 245k. So to be sure, Tesla is currently about 2% the size of VW.
And if sales halved? 2008 took out 2 of the big 3; which companies would a similar recession in 2020 take out? Tesla would be vulnerable, but far from alone.
And yet Tesla is always on the verge of shutting down due to lack of funds, so the gross margin doesn't tell the whole story...