Tesla reported on Sunday that he delivered 936,000 cars in 2021, an increase of 87% over the previous year, despite the shortage of computer chips that disrupted automotive production around the world.
In the fourth quarter alone, the company delivered more than 308,000 vehicles, an increase of 71% from the previous year’s quarter. The overwhelming share of deliveries was for the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y hatchback.
Tesla does not break down its deliveries by country. Much of its recent growth has been driven by sales in Europe and China.
The jump in shipments capped a momentous year in which Tesla saw its shares and profits soar. She has also worked on opening factories near Austin, Texas, and Berlin, Germany, in hopes of maintaining rapid growth.
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In October, Tesla’s market value topped $ 1 trillion for the first time, making it more valuable than General Motors, Ford Motor, Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis, BMW and several other automakers combined.
Understanding the supply chain crisis
The origins of the crisis: The pandemic has created global economic turmoil. We explained how it happened.
Explain shortages: Why is this happening? When will this end? Here are some answers to your questions.
Gifts arrive on time: Fears that a disrupted supply chain could wreak havoc during the holidays have been proven to be false. Here’s why.
Car shortages: The limited supply of vehicles forces some to go to great lengths to find them, including driving hundreds of kilometers.
A key factor in inflation: Inflation in the United States is at its highest level in decades. Supply chain issues play a big role.
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Tesla’s stock on Friday closed at $ 1,056.78, down from just under $ 700 at the end of 2020. The stock’s rise was fueled by increased sales and profits. In the third quarter, the company earned $ 1.6 billion, more than double its profits for all of 2020, its first profitable year.
With stocks at dizzying heights, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has started selling large chunks of his stock, in part to cover taxes, after polling his Twitter followers. Several times he said he was done selling, but continued.
Au total, M. Musk sold over $ 16 billion in Tesla shares. The transactions involved the exercise of 22.8 million options granted to Mr. Musk as part of his compensation and bonuses.
Tesla said it expects deliveries to increase by around 50% per year over the next several years, and is counting on output from its factories in Austin and Berlin to meet its target. Both factories are expected to start producing Model Y hatchbacks soon.
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At the same time, the quality of Tesla products has remained uneven. On Thursday, the company told federal regulators it plans to recall more than 475,000 cars for two separate flaws that could affect safety – a misaligned latch on the front hood, which could allow the hood to swing open in such a way. unexpected, and the wiring of the reversing camera which can be damaged by opening and closing the trunk. A day later, vehicles in China were also recalled.
How the supply chain crisis unfolded
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The pandemic triggered the problem. The highly complex and interconnected global supply chain is in upheaval. Much of the crisis can be attributed to the Covid-19 epidemic, which has triggered an economic downturn, massive layoffs and a production shutdown. Here’s what happened next:
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A reduction in shipping costs. With fewer products produced and fewer people with paychecks to spend at the start of the pandemic, manufacturers and shipping companies assumed demand would decline sharply. But that turned out to be a mistake, as the demand for some items would increase.
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The demand for protective equipment has increased. At the start of 2020, the entire planet suddenly needed masks and surgical gowns. Most of these products were made in China. As Chinese factories ramped up production, freighters began delivering equipment around the world.
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Then, a shortage of sea containers. Shipping containers have piled up in many parts of the world after being emptied. The result was a shortage of containers in the country that needed them most: China, where factories were starting to pump goods in record volumes.
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The demand for durable goods has increased. The pandemic has shifted spending by Americans from dining out and attending events to office furniture, electronics and kitchen appliances – mostly purchased online. The spending was also encouraged by government stimulus programs.
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Tense supply chains. Factory goods quickly overwhelmed American ports. The increase in orders again exceeded the availability of shipping containers, and the cost of shipping a container from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased tenfold.
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Labor shortages. Businesses across the economy, meanwhile, have struggled to hire workers, including the truck drivers needed to transport goods to warehouses. Even though employers resorted to higher wages, labor shortages persisted, exacerbating the scarcity of goods.
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Shortages of components. Shortages of one thing turned into shortages of others. A shortage of computer chips, for example, has forced major automakers to cut production, while even delaying the manufacture of medical devices.
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A lasting problem. Businesses and consumers alike have responded to the shortages by ordering earlier and more, especially before the holidays, but this has put more strain on the system. These problems are a key factor in rising inflation and are expected to last for months or longer.
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Additionally, the company and its Autopilot driver assistance system have come under increased scrutiny from safety regulators in the United States. The Tesla’s have been involved in a series of crashes with other vehicles, some of which have resulted in fatalities, while the autopilot system was activated.
The company continues to promote its autopilot system, which can take over some of the steering, braking and accelerating tasks of drivers, and a more advanced feature set, Full Self Driving, which it offers for 10,000. $ but has so far only allowed a selection of client groups to test.
In August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a formal investigation into how the autopilot recognizes objects on the road. It specifically examines 11 instances where Teslas crashed into emergency vehicles that had stopped on freeways and whose lights were flashing.
The agency is also looking at more than two dozen other crashes involving Tesla that were under autopilot control. Eight of these crashes have killed a total of 10 since the first in 2016.
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