The walk (illustrative)
USD millions; refresh from the latest 10-K.
Maintenance vs. growth CapEx
Tesla does not split CapEx into maintenance and growth in the filings. A practitioner estimate: D&A as a maintenance proxy puts maintenance CapEx near $5-6B annually in current state. The remaining $5-6B is growth (Mexico, expansion lines, energy storage). Owner earnings on the Buffett construct would therefore be materially higher than Standard FCF in build years.
FCF vs. D&A
D&A run-rate is approximately $5B; Standard FCF was approximately $3.9B in the illustrative period. FCF below D&A means the firm is not currently regenerating its own depreciation through cash, but this is the expected pattern in a capacity-build phase.
Conversion ratio
Reported net income FY25 illustrative ~$7B; FCF / NI = 3.9 / 7.0 = 56%. Below the diligence-flag cutoff of 80% but defensible given the build phase. Switch to owner earnings to compare across periods.