Tesla took in a record-breaking $17.72 billion in revenues in the fourth quarter. The electric vehicle giant’s fourth quarterly report exceeded analyst’s expectations, but it’s thought that the revenues could have been much better if it hadn’t been for ongoing supply chain problems.
The quarterly report was issued last week and it warned that it looks as though the supply chain issues could be set to dog Tesla for the remainder of 2022. The warning stated the brand would be chip limited and that no new vehicles would be launched this year. This warning was enough to send the automaker’s share value sliding by 5%, although the price rebounded later that day.
Industry analysts had speculated that Tesla’s earnings would only be $16.57 billion in the fourth quarter, but the electric car manufacturer put in a better than expected performance to post a 65% gain over the same quarter last year.
While Tesla has transformed the automobile market, it has had problems in keeping up with demand. The firm issued a statement following the earningS report to say that its factories had been running below capacity for several quarters. This is despite Tesla opening multiple numbers of factories in territories ranging from Austin, Texas and Berlin to China.
Such problems have meant that there have commonly been delays of up to six months for customers waiting for their new electric vehicles. Despite this, Tesla still managed to deliver 241,300 electric vehicles to customers all over the world in the three months running up to last September. Interestingly, Moody’s Investors Service boosted Tesla’s credit rating and expectations are that the electric vehicle manufacturer could hit blue chip status by 2023.
What can investors expect from Tesla in 2022?
The lack of new vehicles from Tesla might be disappointing for some prospective investors but the brand will continue working on engineering and autonomous vehicle technology. This means that the planned Tesla Cybertruck won’t be launched until 2023 at the very earliest.
While Tesla is notorious for running over deadlines, the fact that the Cybertruck was due to be launched in 2021 is a signal of how hectic it is getting with the automaker. Alongside the supply chain issues, the Cybertruck has been criticized for its boxy design and there remain a series of design challenges in terms of how to power a vehicle of that size.
The launch of the Cybertruck will come at a time when there will be increased competition in the electric vehicle market. From Ford doubling the production of its F-150 Lighting Car to Hummer and Chevy introducing their own trucks over the next couple of years, it will be a critical time for getting a toehold in the fledgling market. Plus with hot newcomers like Rivian already proving to be a hit among investors, it looks like the next 12 months will be all to play for for Tesla.
