Great post Robert. Your last point here is certainly valid, but there is another important difference between Sweden and Norway. Sweden produces cars, and the population prefers to buy domestic, and vote for laws that promote domestic cars (like company car tax compared to income tax). Norway has no such adversion to imported cars, since everything is imported. This is still minor compared to Norway's pro-EV policies however. GSP
On the other hand, Norway is a large oil producer (#8 exporter in the world) so there may be some anti-EV sentiment as well.
Fortunately they also have super-abundant hydroelectric power and are a net exporter of electricity so for Norwegians the economic math is easy. Buy low sell high. Sweden is near 50/50 hydro nuke so you'd think they'd be all over EVs too. However, Norway has more expensive gas (the only net oil producer with expensive gas, UK is a net importer) and higher average wages.
Norwegians are smart, they know that when the oil runs out they have nothing left to export except fish. (That's meant in a joking manner, I love Norway). How did we end up discussing Norway in a thread about JP?
> However, Norway has more expensive gas (the only net oil producer with expensive gas, UK is a net importer) and higher average wages. [INATM] Statoil is a big natural gas producer so might be good to clarify: do you mean gas or gasoline(petrol)? > (believe me, I've been hit hard with AAPL, losing the equivalent of three loaded-up Model S on AAPL options last fall - not so unrelated story with what is happening now with Tesla: great product, great people, booming sales and such) - the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent and mentally sane; [nicuM] Methinks, with all due respect, that you might have been hit hard by the use of options as opposed to the stock itself. AAPL over the years has proven to be non-volatile really; its bloated moves nicely telegraphing to the conservative investor when to take profits, when to jump in after bouts of panic selling by the boutique crowd. That's a handy metric you have created: 'How many Model_Ss has stock A earned for me?"!! --
Yes, it's mostly because of options. I will not say more than that here, but AAPL has much lower P/E than lesser competitors or the S&P itself (that's why the irrationality comment). Not trying to create a MS metric, just stating a reality and where my option caution comes from Now that's old history, let's look forward what we can do with TSLA.