What's going on?

Elon will do anything for a bit of attention: Tesla reported mixed fourth-quarter earnings late on Wednesday, and delivered an outlook that left investors baffled.

What does this mean?

Tesla had already revealed the number of vehicles it delivered in 2020 earlier this month, and things were looking promising: that figure was 35% higher than the year before. This update, then, was a chance for the company to tout a couple of other big wins: namely a sixth-straight quarterly profit and its first-ever full-year profit. Trouble was, its all-important forecast for future vehicle deliveries was oddly vague: Tesla didn�t promise a specific number of vehicle deliveries like normal, but instead just said it�d grow them by 50% a year for an unspecified number of years.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: It�s a tipping point for EVs.�

Global sales of EVs were up 43% in 2020 from the year before, even as the pandemic dragged overall car sales down by 20%. In fact, sales of EVs and hybrids went from 2.5% of all cars sold in 2019 to 4.2% last year. And this could be just the beginning: analysts reckon EVs will be cheaper than gas-guzzlers by 2023 � and that�s when sales should really take off (tweet this).

For you personally: There�s mileage in less obvious EV investments.

It�s hard to say which EV maker will ultimately come out on top: Tesla�s the current market leader, sure, but it�s facing stiff competition from incumbents like Volkswagen � not to mention contenders in the booming Chinese market. Of course, keep in mind that carmakers aren�t the only way to invest in the industry. EV batteries � the most expensive part of the vehicle � can make or break a carmaker�s bottom line. So if you can find a company that hits upon game-changing technology � or even if you invest in a commodity involved in the battery-making process � you might be onto a winner�