That sounds simple. Maybe overly simple. As though if only Ford could spend money on growing it's business and building more cars per year they could be in a better position.

Ford share holders, presumably, received a return on their investment in the form of a dividend. While Telsa haven't and won't in the "foreseeable future".[1]

So your overly simplified analysis is complicated somewhat by the individual investor carrying out a risk assessment and deciding which companies should or shouldn't be in their share portfolio.

1. http://ir.tesla.com/faq.cfm