Tesla, Inc. 10-K form for the fiscal year ended 2021-12-31, page 49: Tesla, Inc.

 Consolidated Balance Sheets

 (in millions, except per share data)
    |    |                                                                                                                                                                  |              |        |              |    |        |    |
|---:|:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|:-------------|:-------|:-------------|:---|:-------|:---|
|  1 |                                                                                                                                                                  | December 31, |        | December 31, |    |        |    |
|  2 |                                                                                                                                                                  | 2021         |        | 2020         |    |        |    |
|  3 | Assets                                                                                                                                                           |              |        |              |    |        |    |
|  4 | Current assets                                                                                                                                                   |              |        |              |    |        |    |
|  5 | Cash and cash equivalents                                                                                                                                        | $            | 17,576 |              | $  | 19,384 |    |
|  6 | Short-term marketable securities                                                                                                                                 |              | 131    |              |    | -      |    |
|  7 | Accounts receivable, net                                                                                                                                         |              | 1,913  |              |    | 1,886  |    |
|  8 | Inventory                                                                                                                                                        |              | 5,757  |              |    | 4,101  |    |
|  9 | Prepaid expenses and other current assets                                                                                                                        |              | 1,723  |              |    | 1,346  |    |
| 10 | Total current assets                                                                                                                                             |              | 27,100 |              |    | 26,717 |    |
| 11 | Operating lease vehicles, net                                                                                                                                    |              | 4,511  |              |    | 3,091  |    |
| 12 | Solar energy systems, net                                                                                                                                        |              | 5,765  |              |    | 5,979  |    |
| 13 | Property, plant and equipment, net                                                                                                                               |              | 18,884 |              |    | 12,747 |    |
| 14 | Operating lease right-of-use assets                                                                                                                              |              | 2,016  |              |    | 1,558  |    |
| 15 | Digital assets, net                                                                                                                                              |              | 1,260  |              |    | -      |    |
| 16 | Intangible assets, net                                                                                                                                           |              | 257    |              |    | 313    |    |
| 17 | Goodwill                                                                                                                                                         |              | 200    |              |    | 207    |    |
| 18 | Other non-current assets                                                                                                                                         |              | 2,138  |              |    | 1,536  |    |
| 19 | Total assets                                                                                                                                                     | $            | 62,131 |              | $  | 52,148 |    |
| 20 | Liabilities                                                                                                                                                      |              |        |              |    |        |    |
| 21 | Current liabilities                                                                                                                                              |              |        |              |    |        |    |
| 22 | Accounts payable                                                                                                                                                 | $            | 10,025 |              | $  | 6,051  |    |
| 23 | Accrued liabilities and other                                                                                                                                    |              | 5,719  |              |    | 3,855  |    |
| 24 | Deferred revenue                                                                                                                                                 |              | 1,447  |              |    | 1,458  |    |
| 25 | Customer deposits                                                                                                                                                |              | 925    |              |    | 752    |    |
| 26 | Current portion of debt and finance leases                                                                                                                       |              | 1,589  |              |    | 2,132  |    |
| 27 | Total current liabilities                                                                                                                                        |              | 19,705 |              |    | 14,248 |    |
| 28 | Debt and finance leases, net of current portion                                                                                                                  |              | 5,245  |              |    | 9,556  |    |
| 29 | Deferred revenue, net of current portion                                                                                                                         |              | 2,052  |              |    | 1,284  |    |
| 30 | Other long-term liabilities                                                                                                                                      |              | 3,546  |              |    | 3,330  |    |
| 31 | Total liabilities                                                                                                                                                |              | 30,548 |              |    | 28,418 |    |
| 32 | Commitments and contingencies (Note 15)                                                                                                                          |              |        |              |    |        |    |
| 33 | Redeemable noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries                                                                                                              |              | 568    |              |    | 604    |    |
| 34 | Convertible senior notes (Note 11)                                                                                                                               |              | -      |              |    | 51     |    |
| 35 | Equity                                                                                                                                                           |              |        |              |    |        |    |
| 36 | Stockholders' equity                                                                                                                                             |              |        |              |    |        |    |
| 37 | Preferred stock; $0.001 par value; 100 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding                                                                       |              | -      |              |    | -      |    |
| 38 | Common stock; $0.001 par value; 2,000 shares authorized; 1,033 and 960 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively |              | 1      |              |    | 1      |    |
| 39 | Additional paid-in capital                                                                                                                                       |              | 29,803 |              |    | 27,260 |    |
| 40 | Accumulated other comprehensive income                                                                                                                           |              | 54     |              |    | 363    |    |
| 41 | Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)                                                                                                                          |              | 331    |              |    | (5,399 | )  |
| 42 | Total stockholders' equity                                                                                                                                       |              | 30,189 |              |    | 22,225 |    |
| 43 | Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries                                                                                                                         |              | 826    |              |    | 850    |    |
| 44 | Total liabilities and equity                                                                                                                                     | $            | 62,131 |              | $  | 52,148 |    |
 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
 49



Question: What does the change in Tesla's long-term debt between 2019 and 2020 indicate about its financing strategy?
Answer: Tesla reduced its long-term debt from $11,634 million in 2019 to $9,556 million in 2020, focusing on lowering its debt burden to reduce interest expenses and improve financial flexibility.