Tesla Is Increasing Prices in Response to Growing Expenses

Tesla has been an exception in the aftermath of the epidemic, producing record deliveries and profitability for many quarters as competitors grappled with global supply chain bottlenecks and carried out production halts.

Tesla's stock increased 5% after the closing of regular trading.

Musk said on an investor conference call that Tesla has a fair chance of exceeding 60% car delivery growth this year and is confident of maintaining 50% yearly delivery growth for many years.

Tesla increased its pricing in China, the United States, and other countries after Musk's March statement that the United States' electric automaker was suffering considerable inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics as a result of the Ukraine conflict.

"Our own plants have been operating at less than capacity for many quarters as supply chain constraints became the primary constraint, which is expected to persist for the remainder of 2022," Tesla said in a statement.

The price hikes are intended to cover increased expenditures over the next six to twelve months, protecting Tesla against demand for vehicles it may not deliver for up to a year.

"Price rises are comfortably outpacing cost inflation," Roth Capital's Craig Irwin observed.

"Chinese production concerns seem to be under control, and we anticipate Austin and Berlin to pick up the slack after Shanghai's 19-day outage," he added, referring to Tesla's two new facilities in Texas and Germany that began deliveries recently.

Musk was able to fulfill a hat trick of performance targets worth a total $23 billion in extra remuneration as a consequence of the outcomes. He is not compensated, and his compensation is contingent upon Tesla's market capitalization and financial growth meeting a series of rising benchmarks.

The world's most valuable carmaker reported first-quarter sales of $18.8 billion, compared to analyst projections of $17.8 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. This represents an increase of 81% over the previous year.

Revenue from the selling of regulatory credits to other automakers increased 31% year over year to $679 million in the first quarter, contributing to the company's revenue and profit growth.

It earned $3.22 per share, above analysts' expectations of $2.26.

Tesla's pre-tax profit (EBITDA) per car delivered increased by more than 60% year over year to $16,203 in the current quarter.

Tesla said that it had lost about one month of production capacity at its Shanghai manufacturing due to COVID-related shutdowns. It said that manufacturing has resumed at a reduced rate, which will have an effect on second-quarter total build and delivery volume.

Musk anticipated that Tesla's overall output will be comparable to that of the first quarter.

LITHIUM IS A SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

Musk said that lithium is to blame for pricing hikes and is "a limiting issue" in the adoption of electric vehicles.

He urged businesses to enter the lithium market, which he said would yield significant profits due to the commodity's high price.

"Lithium margins are now comparable to software margins....

Are you fond of minting money? The lithium industry, on the other hand, is for you."

Additionally, he said that Tesla would make "some interesting announcements in the coming months" about the acquisition of raw materials for batteries.

Musk said that if Tesla does not address volume manufacturing by early 2023, its own 4680 battery cells would pose a danger to production next year. "However, we are really optimistic that we will succeed." Additionally, he said that as a risk mitigation measure, it would continue to utilize its current 2170 batteries for cars manufactured in Texas.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company plans to mass manufacture a robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedal by 2024.

Musk made no mention of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) on the call, which he bid to acquire last week for $43 billion. Investors fear he may sell some Tesla stock or borrow against further Tesla stock to pay his offer.

Investors are also concerned about Musk's Twitter bid distracting him at a time when Tesla is ramping up production at new plants in Berlin and Texas.

Tesla noted in a statement that "factory ramps take time, and Gigafactory Austin and Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg will be no exception."

The additional plants will be critical in satisfying demand and decreasing the company's dependence on its largest facility in China, which is currently recuperating from a plant stoppage.