Trying to find the upside to Tesla-Daimler deal

Not everyone think the big Daimler-Tesla deal announced last week is a win-win. In fact, Jay Yarow over at Business Insider is trying to figure our how either side benefits from Daimler's estimated $50+ million investment in Tesla. Yarow's basic argument is that Tesla didn't get enough to save itself and Daimler "picked up a company that has got one product with weak sales and is about to be saddled with enormous debt." Yarow also thinks that demand for Tesla's cars isn't exactly staggering, and it won't get better because there will be a lot more competition in the all-EV market, a market that Tesla currently dominates by default, in a few years.

Based on the excitement this deal generated, though, it's clear that Daimler got something for its money. Association with one of the leaders in the electric car field is an obvious plus, and there's got to be technology involved in the deal that Daimler wants. Yarow does admit that he's not seeing the whole picture, writing, "We must be missing something, though, because in this market, car companies don't let $50 million walk out the door for no good reason."

[Source: Business Insider]