Renault-Nissan's Ghosnian Knot

In ancient Greek legend, there was a knot found in the Anatolian city of Gordium so intricate that none could loosen it. Alexander the Great, hearing that whoever unfastened it would become the ruler of Asia, sliced it in half with a blow of his sword. Soon after, his magnificent conquests confirmed the prophecy.

It's a similar story with the knot of automotive companies bound together by Renault SA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn. Even after adjustments to remove double-counting due to the web of cross-shareholdings that tie Renault to Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., net income from the three companies comes to some 9.4 billion euros ($11.6 billion), enough to make it the fourth-largest automotive group worldwide on that measure. But Nissan -- the largest satrapy of this empire -- has a market capitalization that trails Tesla Inc., which has never made an annual profit.