Clearing Out The In-Box -- January 3, 2022

Tesla smashed expectations; delivered way more EVs in 4Q21 than analysts forecast. Link here.

• record delivery for any quarter: 308,600 cars
• TSLA surges; company joins the exclusive $1 trillion market valuation club
• for the year: almost a million deliveries; actual: 936,000;
• analysts' forecast: 263,000 vs actual of 308,600 -- truly amazing -- and everyone was complaining about semiconductor chip supply chain issues
• this supports my view that supply chain issues had a lot to do with piss poor planning, not necessarily a supply chain shortage (don't take that out of context)
• TSLA: recently under $1,000 when Elon Musk started selling shares to pay outrageous federal and California state taxes; now, new price target of $1,400

Investing: the S&P 500 beat both the Dow and the NASDQ in 2021 by the widest margin in 24 years. Link here.

Chicago: announces vaccine. Goal: prevent new lockdowns. 

Israel: offers fourth dose in less than a year. Previously, the fourth dose only for immuno-compromised; now available for everyone.

North Texas: it's cold down here. LOL. While cooking Cornish hen and lamb last night, I had to turn on the air conditioner to make the apartment a bit more comfortable for guests. Wow. What a great state. LOL. 

Note to readers: the link to Victor Davis Hanson at the sidebar at the right will be removed and replaced with Bjorn Lomborg. This is the first change of many for the blog for 2022. 

Bjorn Lomborg:

• the world is improving -- not just for the rich, but also especially for the world's poor;
• batteries won't save Asia .... or, Europe;