Tesla is the most valued automobile manufacturer in the world, far ahead of historic firms like General Motors which weighs only $ 85 billion on the stock market. Elon Musk’s company delivered nearly 1 million vehicles in 2021.
Despite the lingering global semiconductor shortage, Tesla is still ramping up production. In 2021, the American manufacturer delivered nearly a million electric vehicles, almost twice as many as the previous year. The firm of Elon Musk made 936,172 deliveries during the last fiscal year, against 499,550 a year earlier, an increase of 87.4% compared to 2020. It is the Model 3 and Y which largely carried the ‘together with 911,208 units delivered, against barely 24,964 luxury models, the Model S and X.
In the fourth quarter, Tesla says it delivered 308,600 vehicles while analysts expected 263,026. Those from October to December jumped about 70% from the previous year, and nearly 30% from the previous year. previous quarter (241,300 deliveries). Note that Tesla, which was created in 2003, for the first time crossed the bar of 200,000 deliveries in the second quarter of 2021 (201,250 to be exact). By comparison, the electric vehicle maker had only provided 90,650 key handovers in the same period a year earlier.
Tesla valued over $ 1 trillion on Wall Street
With these figures in clear progression, Tesla confirms its resilience in the midst of the semiconductor crisis which is penalizing the automotive industry. Many manufacturers have even been forced to close factories for several months in the absence of electronic components to complete production of their models. The loss of earnings for the industry would amount to 210 billion dollars in 2021. To overcome the constraints related to this global shortage, Tesla designs most of its chips in-house and has reprogrammed its on-board software to use less rare chips.
In addition, Tesla was able to increase its production in China despite increased competition and pressure from Chinese authorities following complaints from customers about the safety of its cars. The firm has also recalled nearly a million Model 3 and S in the world at the end of 2021 because of a problem identified on the trunk locking system. China is an essential country in its production chain since it is from the Middle Kingdom that Tesla ships cars marketed in Europe and in certain Asian countries.
Despite the doubts that sometimes surround the safety around its on-board electronics, in particular its Autopilot mode which is regularly in the headlines, Tesla continues to gain momentum. The firm now based in Austin (Texas) even crossed the 1000 billion mark in market capitalization on Wall Street last October after the announcement of an order for 100,000 vehicles by the car rental company Hertz. With an accelerating production rate, Tesla should ensure 1.5 million deliveries in 2022, according to Deutsche Bank. To achieve this objective, the manufacturer will be able to rely on a new Texan factory and an additional Gigafactory in Germany, near Berlin.