The automotive industry has been plagued by a shortage of chips for more than a year, and the company of the American billionaire Elon Musk reacted quite flexibly. She rewrote her own software to support alternative chips. Thanks to this, the company was able to increase the production of electric cars.
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However, Tesla said it had trouble keeping production in full swing due to the lack of semiconductors and the problems with shipping. Many carmakers have been able to record record profits due to resilient consumer demand, despite the lack of chips, but have not been able to produce better sales due to supplier constraints.
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Tesla’s net profit was $ 1.62 billion (approximately 35.5 billion crowns). That’s about five times more than in the same period a year ago, the AP agency said.
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Revenues and the number of cars sold also increased significantly year-on-year. The carmaker’s revenues reached $ 13.76 billion (roughly 302 billion crowns) and increased by 57 percent year on year. The company sold 241,300 cars from July to the end of September, which is about 72 percent more than in the third quarter of last year. Since the beginning of the year, Tesla has sold 627,300 cars and is the largest manufacturer of electric cars in the world.
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The Volkswagen Group wants to replace Tesla in this position. By 2030, it aims to significantly increase the share of fully electric cars, both in Europe and in North America and China.
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But the electric car segment is already very dense and neither Tesla nor VW will have an easy life.
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On Monday, the Taiwanese company Foxconn, known for example as the manufacturer of iPhones for Apple, presented its first three prototypes of electric cars. Thus, it continues to expand into the automotive industry. Foxconn introduced prototypes of the SUV, sedan and bus.
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According to Tesla’s management, there are factors that could reduce the company’s profitability. These include rising commodity prices or labor shortages. Management also said Tesla was cooperating in investigations conducted by US regulators. These are, for example, accidents involving Tesla cars with autopilot. But the carmaker claims that driving with an autopilot is safer than without it.
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Tesla plans to launch its first production plant in Europe this year. According to the company, Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg should be its most advanced plant with the highest degree of sustainability and efficiency. Tesla plans to produce hundreds of thousands of Model Y cars and millions of battery cells.
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But getting started is complicated. The online public consultation will be repeated, during which the public can raise objections due to the factory’s impact on the surroundings. There are reasons to reiterate that the consultation process to date has not complied with the necessary regulations. This was stated today by the regional ministry of the environment.
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Musk had previously expressed a frustration with the way German laws and permitting procedures work. According to him, complex planning requirements run counter to the rapid progress that is needed in the fight against climate change.
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