Is that calculated similar to how Tesla loses $20,000 per car? ($2b loss/100k cars in 2017)

Obviously not because GM makes overall profit.

It's based on media reports like https://electrek.co/2016/11/30/gm-chevy-bolt-ev-loss-before-... and http://gmauthority.com/blog/2017/06/ubs-gm-probably-loses-ab....

Electrek report is based on taking to GM insiders. gmauthority is based on a vehicle teardown.

For what it's worth during earnings calls Tesla discloses profit margins for their cars.

As I understand it, GM never publicly disclosed profit margin for Bolt so the unofficial guesses is all we have to go on.

The report on the Chevy Bolt that UBS financed has apparently more or less wandered into the public domain. It's available here (first google hit): http://www.advantagelithium.com/_resources/pdf/UBS-Article.p...

It paints a hopeful picture if you're interested in the future of electric cars, I think. The Bolt is something GM threw together with the minimal amount of effort necessary, understanding that this generation would have pretty low volume, and it's honestly really good for what it is.

Is that an operational loss or is it factoring in the design and development costs?