Housing was costly in Palo Alto well before Tesla decided to make it their headquarters. Elon just hates CA for forcing their factory to close during the pandemic, biting the hand that feeds him.
Comparing revenue to a prior quarter when their factory was shutdown due to a pandemic is a little disingenuous. Look at “same store” sales (same market, like China or Europe) over time for the real growth story.
Operating margin is 11%. It’s the first time Tesla has been GAAP profitable without regulatory credit sales (pollution credits that delay other automakers’ EV programs) included, which is significant. They never should have sold a single pollution credit; that’s a violation of their supposed mission statement. Every Tesla you buy allows a big polluting gas guzzler to be sold elsewhere, so there’s no environmental benefit.