After a long period of delivery problems in the automotive industry, the tech and automotive company Tesla is now focusing primarily on securing its delivery capacity by diversifying its supply chain and is refraining entirely from introducing new car models in 2022. This was revealed at Tesla's Q4 earnings call held on January 26, when the company presented its full-year results.
For 2021, Tesla reported a profit of $721 million and revenue of $31.5 billion. These are the electric vehicle manufacturer’s best results ever and the second profitable year in the company’s history. Like the rest of the industry, Tesla has struggled with various supply chain disruptions, including semiconductor shortages, insufficient transportation capacity, and a shortage of drivers. Tesla appears to have handled these disruptions better than the rest of the industry.
“2021 was a breakthrough year for the entire electric vehicle market, and despite supply chain issues, we managed to increase our sales by nearly 90 percent last year,” said Tesla founder, major shareholder, and CEO Elon Musk, adding:
– Tesla’s main focus in 2022 is to scale up our production and deliver cars to our customers from our factories in Austin, Texas, and Berlin. “Last year, we worked hard to address hundreds of different supply chain issues, which enabled us to grow by nearly 90 percent while the rest of the market contracted,” Musk said, extending special thanks to all suppliers for their sacrifices in 2021.
Supply chain challenges are limiting
– In 2022, the challenge will continue to be the supply chain, which is holding us back. There are several supply chain challenges, but despite this, we expect significant growth in 2022—well over 40 percent. We will not launch any new cars in 2022 but will prioritize production and delivery,” stated Elon Musk.
”Optimus could become more important than cars”
In closing, Musk made a case for the new development initiative Optimus—”the Tesla bot”—which is described as a ”human-like robot” that he believes may become more important than car production in the future, at a time when many sectors are facing labor shortages. It is expected to be used shortly for tasks such as moving items around in Tesla’s factories.
