Musk: "No New Product Launches This Year Due to Supply Chain Issues"
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Tesla posted record-breaking results last year but warned that supply chain disruptions are expected to continue into this year. Elon Musk, Tesla's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), announced that no new products will be launched this year due to the semiconductor supply chain impact.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others on the 26th (local time), Tesla announced its Q4 and annual results for last year, revealing this outlook. Tesla's revenue last year was $53.8 billion (approximately 64.7 trillion KRW), with an operating profit of $5.5 billion. This represents a 70.8% increase in revenue and a 662.8% increase in operating profit compared to 2020’s revenue of $31.5 billion and operating profit of $721 million.
The total number of vehicles delivered worldwide last year was 936,172, an 87% increase from 499,647 units in 2020. Despite the global semiconductor shortage affecting the automotive industry, Tesla appears to have maximized production capacity, significantly increasing vehicle deliveries compared to 2020.
However, Tesla expressed concerns that supply chain issues will continue to significantly impact the automotive industry this year as well. Tesla stated, "Supply chain issues are acting as a major limiting factor, causing our factories to operate below production capacity for several quarters, and this is expected to continue this year."
The supply chain issues have also affected Tesla’s new product launches this year. CEO Musk said during the annual earnings conference call, "We will not be launching new products this year. We are still in a constrained situation from a supply chain perspective." Initially, Musk had raised expectations by posting that he would announce a new product roadmap during the November earnings call last year, but the semiconductor supply chain issues have hindered those plans.
Nonetheless, Musk revealed that despite these problems, vehicle production began at Tesla’s factories in Austin, Texas, and Berlin, Germany, from the end of last year. He added that testing of new products is underway at the Austin factory, where Model Y vehicles are being produced using 4,860 battery cells. He emphasized that the company’s main goals this year are to increase production at existing factories, scout new locations, and develop fully autonomous vehicles.
As Tesla shared its views on the supply chain issues, CNBC reported that Tesla’s stock price fell about 5% in after-hours trading on the same day.
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