There is just no stopping Tesla right now. Not even supply chain issues can derail Elon Musk's company as Tesla more than tripled its earnings from year-ago results. Tesla recorded adjusted earnings worth $2.9 billion in the final quarter of 2021, a massive jump from the $903 million the company earned during the same period a year earlier.
Tesla easily topped Wall Street's expectations for the quarter, with analysts surveyed by Refinitiv earlier forecasting earnings amounting to $2.6 billion. Tesla's fourth-quarter revenue of $17.7 billion was 65 percent higher than its 2020 numbers. The results took Tesla's total revenue in 2021 to $53.8 billion and its full-year earnings to $7.6 billion.
Musk made the announcement during Wednesday's conference call with investors. He told investors six months ago that he would not participate in calls anymore unless there was something important he needed to announce. After missing the previous call three months ago, Musk made an immediate return with the Tesla CEO sharing some important news to his company's investors.
Musk announced that Tesla would be putting plans for new vehicles on hold due to the company's supply chain issues. Musk said that it would not make any sense to introduce new vehicle models to the market as Tesla will still be parts-constrained.
Many expected Tesla to launch new vehicles this year, including the much-awaited Roadster model and the Cybertruck pickup. That wasn't to be the case at all, with Musk telling investors that bringing a new product to market in 2022 would have required a lot of attention and resources.
He explained that the chip shortage would remain an issue for Tesla this year, posing multiple supply chain challenges. The auto industry had difficulty dealing with the semiconductor shortage last year, with most carmakers temporarily shutting their factories to limit production.
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Tesla managed to overcome this problem, increasing its sales and output in the face of those global supply chain issues. Tesla's sales last year came to 936,000 vehicles, nearly doubling its 2020 sales of 500,000 units. Musk said Tesla grew its volumes by nearly 90 percent last year, making 2021 a breakthrough year for the Texas-based company.
Tesla took full advantage of the growing demand for electric vehicles among consumers. Global EV sales increased to 4.5 million in 2021, according to car research firm LMC. That is a huge jump compared to the 2.1 million electric vehicles sold in 2020.
Musk expects Tesla to continue increasing its sales in 2022, with growth expected to be comfortably above 50 percent next year. Tesla has factories in California, China, and Texas and is currently building one in Berlin, Germany. That will help the company expand its production even further as it tries to meet the overwhelming demand for electric vehicles.
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