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> Tesla has a big lead over other OEMs in battery cost.

Do they though? How come GM was able to shop a reasonably priced Chevy Bolt as a competitor to Model 3?

I realize that in car manufacturing GM is a leading brand with economies of scale working for it, but in electric battery world they're a nobody, so I'd expect them to pay close to market price, no Gigafactories and all?

Do they lose money on Bolts?

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Yes, they lose money on bolts or at least break even. I'm trying to find the source on it but from what I read the reason they are making the bolts is to get ZEV credits that'll offset their larger & more profitable trucks and gain experience in building electric cars so if (when?) they have to compete head to head with Tesla on a larger scale that they'll have the knowledge to do so.

I don't know if it's all about ZEV credits, those have dropped to "pennies on the dollar" nowadays, so would be more efficient just to buy them on the open market (which GM still does) http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-decision-on-e...

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