Perfectlogic
Member
Because Ford R&D vs. Tesla R&D is Apples vs. Orangutans. R&D at incumbent car manufacturers is largely iterative on *existing* and mature product lines. How can you reasonably roll Tesla's R&D--the lion's share of which is currently on Model 3--into Model S COGS? That would give you a very distorted view of the company's cost structure!
Ford is working on newer models too, but yes clearly there is a difference in scale of sales. My point on the different accounting methods still stands though, some of the R&D is for the S and X.