Tesla Motors, Inc has a stated goal of reaching 500,000 vehicle sales in the year 2020. The company just announced breaking 10,000 vehicle sales last quarter, with even the most optimistic goals for 2015 yielding less than one-tenth the stated goal for 2020. As revenue has grown 55% in the last year, we can see some fascinating trends in expense growth that are well beyond the revenue growth in what looks to be the beginnings of a massive ramp up for a colossal sales goal.Let’s look at three charts of expenses, each growing faster than the impressive revenue numbers. Let’s start with a time series of Capital Expenditures (CapEx) (TTM $millions), below.We can see that CapEx was essentially steady for two years between 2012 to 2013, and then the enormous 270% spending increase for 2014. Keep in mind that the completion of the Gigafactory is the singular driver to the company’s ability to at least manufacture 500,000 vehicles.Next, let’s turn to research & development (R&D) ($ millions) in a time series.We can see that quarterly R&D expense has risen from $68 million for the quarter ending 12-31-2013 to now $140 million for the period ending 12-31-2014. That’s a 106% rise, year-over-year. R&D is spent (at least in part) on the development of new vehicle models.Finally, let’s turn to selling, general & adminstrative (SG&A) expense ($ millions) through time.SG&A is often lumped into “advertising” expense, and while that’s a little sloppy as a catch-all, it does the job for these purposes. TSLA has increased selling (advertising) costs 94% year-over-year.While TSLA has seen revenue grow 55% year-over-year, CapEx, R&D and SG&A expenses have all risen by substantially more. The company appears poised to take a shot at its ambitious goals for the gigafactory and more than a 1,000% rise in vehicle sales within five years.