Comment on Tesla Reportedly Has $800 Million Worth of Cybertrucks That Nobody Wants

• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Angry Labour Value Fundamentalist Noises

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  • MangoCats@feddit.it ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Try appraising real estate for a while, it’s a strong lesson in: something is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it. Can be higher than cost, can be lower than cost, but the willing buyer is the key to the whole valuation equation.

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    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      something is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it

      That’s a naive short-term approach to valuation.

      Real value has to be measured in some kind of revenue generation, or - at least - cost mitigation. Otherwise what you’re describing isn’t value but expense.

      the willing buyer is the key to the whole valuation equation

      The willing buyer is the key to perceived value. But suckering someone doesn’t increase the utility of what you sold them.

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      • MangoCats@feddit.it ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        But suckering someone doesn’t increase the utility of what you sold them.

        No, but what someone is willing to pay is the sum total of what a business gets income from. Whether a business is delivering tangible value (say: food) or nothing of substance (say: Bitcoin) the viability of a business, it’s ability to survive and thrive in the capitalist marketplace, is 100% correlated to income willingly given vs cost of obtaining that income, and 0% correlated to “actual value delivered.”

        What shocks me about much of the U.S. economy is how much is spent on marketing, promotion, advertising, and sales. 0% value derived from such activity, but frequently over half the cost of things that are purchased in the U.S. is sunk in promotion.

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