In 2021, Tesla Makes Crazy Money

On January 26, local time, Tesla released its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 financial results, showing that Tesla reported revenue of $17.719 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, up 65% year-over-year, and GAAP net income of $2.321 billion, up 760% year-over-year. The GAAP net profit is $5.519 billion (about RMB 35 billion), up 665.46% year-on-year, a record annual profit.
For the full year of 2021, Tesla's new vehicle deliveries increased by 87% year-on-year, breaking the delivery record of 930,000 units, with total annual new vehicle deliveries of approximately 936,200 units, up 87.4% year-on-year, far exceeding Tesla's previous external commitment of 50% annual growth expectations.

"In 2022, Tesla will not launch new vehicles and will focus on expanding production." Tesla CEO Musk said in a conference call held on the day of the earnings release that Tesla will continue to choose a site for the factory in 2022.

Tesla said in the earnings report that the company plans to increase production capacity as quickly as possible and expects vehicle deliveries to grow at an average annual rate of 50 percent over the next few years.

10 consecutive quarters of profitability

Tesla defines 2021 as a breakthrough year. A year in which Tesla not only achieves its second consecutive year of profitability, but also the highest quarterly operating margin in the fourth quarter of 2021. "People should no longer doubt the market viability and profitability of electric vehicles." For its part, Tesla says that electric cars have more market prospects than fuel cars.

For its part, Tesla attributed its significant revenue growth in the fourth quarter and full year of 2021 to further reductions in cost per vehicle, increased vehicle deliveries and enhanced profitability in its car rental, service and other businesses.

The reporter found that of Tesla's total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021, $15.967 billion came from the auto sales business, accounting for more than 90% of the total revenue, up 71% from $9.314 billion in the same period a year earlier. And for the full year of 2021, Tesla's automotive business will generate total revenue of $47.232 billion, up 73 percent from $27.236 billion in 2020.

Official figures show that Tesla delivered 308,600 new vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2021, breaking the previous single-quarter sales record. The company's operating margin remained close to 15 percent after paying $245 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 to cash in on the 2018 CEO equity incentive. The financial results show that Tesla's operating profit increased to $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, with an operating margin of 14.7 percent. As of the fourth quarter of 2021, Tesla has achieved 10 consecutive quarters of profitability.

Site selection for factory continues in 2022

In fact, in 2021, the biggest problem Tesla faces is capacity creep. For its part, Tesla said that in the fourth quarter of 2021, Tesla faced challenges posed by the global supply chain, logistics and transportation, labor and other manufacturing aspects, which limited the factory to run at full production capacity.

Currently, Tesla has two production sites in operation, the Fremont plant and the Shanghai SuperFactory. In addition, Tesla has the Austin Superplant and Berlin Superplant pending production. The financial report shows that Tesla's annualized production capacity under the efficiency of the fourth quarter of 2021 has exceeded 1.22 million units.

It is understood that both the Austin Superfactory and the Berlin Superfactory are currently in the equipment commissioning phase. Among them, the Berlin Hyperplant has started equipment testing during vehicle production at the end of 2021. After receiving manufacturing permits from local authorities, it will start delivering German-made vehicles in Europe, with the first cars using 2170 batteries. The Austin plant, meanwhile, is piloting production of the Model Y in late 2021, and after receiving final certification, the company will begin delivering vehicles to customers.

Tesla said in its earnings report that the rate of production climb at the Austin and Berlin plants will be influenced by the successful introduction of many new products and manufacturing technologies at new origins, ongoing supply chain challenges and local permitting, and that Tesla plans to launch production of the Cybertruck at the Austin plant after the Model Y model.

And the Fremont plant is already on track to exceed 600,000 units annually with record-breaking production in 2021. "Our goal is to maximize the Fremont plant capacity while expanding the new plant." For its part, Tesla said it believes the market competitiveness of electric vehicles will be determined by its overall supply chain and production ramp-up capabilities.

"Tesla will also continue to select a site for the factory in 2022, and information may be available by the end of this year." Musk said, "In the future, Tesla will build a Texas mega-factory in the U.S., where we hope two-thirds of the Model Y's across the U.S. can be produced."

According to the plan, in the next few years, Tesla expects vehicle deliveries to grow at an average annual rate of 50 percent. However, the Tesla side also stressed that the specific annual delivery growth rate depends mainly on the company's equipment capacity, operational efficiency, and the capacity and stability of the supply chain.

For its part, Tesla believes that Tesla factories have been running below capacity for several quarters in a row as the supply chain has become a major constraint, and this situation may continue in 2022.