The supply chain caused Tesla's loss of billions of Musk: heard the sound of money in burning

23.06.2022

Number of this text: 1566, reading time for about 3 minutes

Guide: Affected by the epidemic and supply chain, Tesla, the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, is suffering billions of dollars in new car factories in Texas and Berlin, Germany.

Author | First Financial Money Children's Heart

Affected by the epidemic and supply chain, Tesla, the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, is suffering billions of dollars in new car factories in Texas and Berlin, Germany.

In an interview with Tesla's official Silicon Valley Tesla car owner club, Tesla CEO Musk said that Tesla's new factories were difficult to increase production due to export problems caused by battery shortages and outbreaks. This interview was fully disclosed on June 22, local time in the United States, and mainly talked about the production problems faced by Tesla before June this year.

"Berlin and Austin's factories are now huge melting furnaces, just like a huge roar, which is the sound of money in the burning." Musk said. He said that the most affected is the Austin factory in Texas, which led to the factory that can only produce a small number of electric vehicles so far. On the one hand, because of the output of improving the new "4680" battery; on the other hand, the materials used to create the traditional "2170" battery were trapped in the port of China.

In contrast, the situation of the Berlin plant is slightly better. The factory mainly uses the traditional "2170" battery to manufacture electric vehicles. In addition, because some auto parts made in China are also supplied to the car production of the Tesla California plant, the epidemic in Shanghai has also affected the production of the California plant.

Since June, Tesla Shanghai Super Factory has begun to increase its output significantly, and has now returned to the level that is basically the same as before the epidemic. According to sources, Tesla will upgrade the factory in July to further increase the output, and Tesla has not responded to the First Financial reporter.

First Financial reporter learned from insiders that Tesla's weekly (7 days 24 hours) production capacity before the epidemic is more than 15,000 vehicles. According to the Tesla factory's upgrade and transformation plan, the future production capacity can reach a new high of 22,000 units in the future. Essence Tesla did not confirm this data.

Musk regards the "nightmare" of the car supply chain over the past two years. “糟糕的事情一件接着一件发生，我们还没有摆脱困境。”马斯克说道，“特斯拉最关心的还是我们如何让工厂保持运转，这样我们就可以正常给员工发工资而不至于破产","

Musk has stated that he layoffs on Tesla and put paid employees 10%, and the overall labor force decreased by 3.5%. He believes that economic recession will soon come.

According to the latest car industry outlook report released by the consulting agency AlixPartneers, the agency is expected that the supply of the automotive industry chain will last until 2024, and it is expected that the total global automobile sales will drop to 79 million units this year. In 2024, it will rebound to 95 million The vehicle.

Alixpartners specially emphasized the increase in the cost of raw materials for electric vehicles. The report stated that in the past two years, the cost of raw materials for electric vehicles has doubled by more than doubled. The increase in costs is mainly caused by cobalt, nickel and lithium materials. These materials are used in battery production for electric vehicles and electric trucks.

Specifically, as of May this year, the average raw material cost of electric vehicles was US $ 8255 per car, which was 144%higher than 3381 US dollars per car in March 2020. AlixPartneers also said that the specific cost of electric vehicles has increased from about 2,000 US dollars in the past two years to $ 4,500.

Dr. Stephen Dyer, managing director of Ai Rui Platinum in Shanghai and the leader of industrial business in Asia Pacific, told the first financial reporter: "It is difficult for electric vehicles to make money because the volume is still small, and the battery cost is high. No. With the gradual cancellation of subsidies in many regional governments, the price of electric vehicles is understandable. "

However, the demand for electric vehicles is still growing. According to AlixPartners' predictions, by 2028, global electric vehicle sales account for 33%, and by 2035, it will reach 54%. Last year, electric vehicles accounted for less than 8%of global sales, and less than 10%in the first quarter of this year.

The report also stated that in order to meet the growing needs of electric vehicles, automakers and suppliers are now expected to invest at least $ 526 billion in electric vehicles and batteries from 2022 to 2026. This is more than twice the prediction of electric vehicle investment in the 5th year of 2020-2024. At that time, it was predicting that automakers' investment in electric vehicles and batteries was about $ 234 billion.

At the same time, Tesla's competitors are also vigorously developing electric vehicle production capacity in China's largest automotive market in China. On June 23, BMW, Germany, said that the new factory that invested 15 billion yuan in China has officially started production. The new factory will increase the annual output of BMW from 700,000 in 2021 to 830,000. The new factory will be used for the production of electric vehicles.

According to the China Automobile Industry Association, nearly a quarter of the cars sold in China in the first five months of this year are electric vehicles.

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