Tesla’s Record Profit in 2021 Not Enough to Launch Cybertruck Before 2023
Tesla announced on Wednesday a record profit of $5.5 billion USD in 2021, increasing its revenue 71 percent to $53.82 billion USD, 65 percent of which came in the fourth quarter alone.
These results can be attributed to a spectacular 87-percent increase in vehicle deliveries globally—surpassing 936,000 units—despite the ongoing chip shortage and other chain supply issues in the auto industry.
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The automaker warned that those supply issues would persist through 2022 and limit EV production, but it still expects deliveries to grow more than 50 percent this year.
Cybertruck Launch Delayed Once Again
Initially planned for late 2021, then pushed to 2022, production of the polarizing Cybertruck will not start until 2023, Tesla said yesterday. The company prefers to focus on increasing capacity at current plants in California and China and successfully launching production at new factories in Texas and Germany. Obviously, securing more chips is a big priority, too.
CEO Elon Musk said it “would not make sense” to introduce new vehicle models this year, though Tesla continues engineering and planning work on the Cybertruck, the Semi cargo truck, the Roadster and the humanoid robot called Optimus.
Don’t expect to see the so-called “$25,000 Tesla” in 2022, either. Many people want a more affordable car from Tesla, but Musk said “we are not currently working on it.” In fact, he suggested that driverless taxis were a better way to reduce transportation costs than cheaper EVs.
Speaking of costs, Musk also hinted that the Cybertruck could be more expensive than advertised back at the concept’s unveiling in November of 2019 (starting at $39,900 USD) due to the amount of new technology involved and changes that need to be implemented. So far, more than one million reservations have been made, according to reports, but Musk hopes that volume for the pickup will reach 250,000 units a year eventually.
