Tesla dominates the electric car market, that’s a fact. And if you probably know that its Models sell like buns, you may not know that Elon Musk’s company makes a difference.
When the semiconductor crisis hit the automotive industry, the group ofElon Muskannounced a 87% increase in deliveries last year. Its turnover has soared from 71 per cent to USD 53.82 billion, slightly above analysts’ forecasts.
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Electric Vehicles More Cost-Effective Than Thermal Vehicles?
“2021 was a decisive year for Tesla. There should be no more doubt about the viability and profitability of electric vehicles,” the group said in a statement. Tesla even claims that its fourth quarter operating margin was higher than that of all major traditional car manufacturers, “thus demonstrating that electric vehicles can bring in more money than heat-powered vehicles.” The profit excluding exceptional items and related per share, the reference to Wall Street, stood at USD 6.78, again, exceeding expectations. In the fourth quarter alone, the group saw its turnover increase by 65 per cent to 17.72 billion dollars and its net profit to rise to 2.3 billion dollars.
New factories in Austin and Berlin
The car manufacturer, which has announced since the beginning of 2021 that it wants to increase its deliveries by an average of 50% per year for several years, maintains this objective. But it warns that “the growth rate will be contingent on the capacity of its equipment, operational efficiency and the capacity and constancy of the supply chain”. “Our own factories operated below their capacity for several quarters, mainly due to the supply chain, which is expected to continue in 2022,” he adds. To increase production, the group is counting on its new plants in Austin (Texas) and Berlin. Production was scheduled to start last year, but tests are under way, according to a table presented by Tesla on Wednesday. The group explained that it was waiting for the authorities’ final green light on the Austin-made Model Ys to start delivery.
Carbon Credits
Tesla has also continued to take advantage of the sale of the carbon credits granted to other companies, as its cars do not emit pollutants, as the revenues generated by these operations reached 1.47 billion dollars in 2021. The group’s share fell by 0.7 per cent in electronic trade following the closure of the New York Stock Exchange. After the announcement of a mega-command of 100,000 electric vehicles from the lessee of Hertz, Tesla entered the small club of companies worth more than 1,000 billion dollars on Wall Street at the end of October. It has since fallen a little, like most technological values.
A Much-Anticipated Cybertruck Pickup
Many observers expect Elon Musk to bring information about the arrival of new models during the conference call scheduled for Wednesday evening, whether it be the Cybertruck pickup, the Semi truck or a 25,000-dollar car. It’s been almost two years since the first releases of the Model Y in March 2020, Tesla hasn’t launched any vehicles. The group simply stated in the communiqué that it was making “progress” about the production of Cybertruck. Competition is growing in its niche, between traditional manufacturers such as Ford and GM, which promise a salvo of new electric models in the coming years, and start-ups like Rivian, which began delivering its first electric pickups in late 2021.
Tesla’s Net Profits Surpass Those Of Other Brands
Between July and September 2022, Tesla sold 344,000 vehicles. During the same period, Toyota put 2.62 million cars on the market. Even if that may be surprising, Tesla wins hands down. And the secret lies in the efficiency of Elon Musk’s brand vehicles. These data are reported by the Nikkei newspaper and are used to contextualize a powerful headline: “Tesla makes eight times more profits than Toyota per car sold.”
So if we follow the information of our colleagues, Tesla surpassed Toyota in terms of net profits over the last quarter: Tesla’s 3.29 billion dollars against 3.15 billion dollars for Toyota. The secret is that for every car sold, Tesla earns 9,570 dollars, while Toyota only puts in its pockets 1,200 dollars for each unit that is on the market.
Tesla’s figures are so high that the Japanese newspaper points out that the company is making a higher profit than Mercedes or BMW, companies that have reached the top of the profit ranking by focusing on selling more expensive vehicles. A strategy also followed by the electric vehicle company, which has made its models more expensive in recent months.
Tesla’s Secret Is Hidden In Its Factories
There are several reasons why Tesla is closely monitored by other manufacturers who are trying to mimic its production model. To achieve these results, Elon Musk’s company has been trying for a while to reduce the number of components of its cars. There was first the radars, then they decided to eliminate the ultrasound sensors. The company is committed to outsourcing software and ensuring that its autonomous driving systems are based on cameras and eliminate components that make cars more expensive in the process.
However, this is not what interests competition, even if this method benefits Tesla. No, what the car industry really wants to copy is the Tesla manufacturing process. According to Reuters, each Volkswagen ID.3 costs the German company 30 hours, while a Tesla Model Y costs only 10 hours. “Our goal is clear: we want to set the standard with our production. If we manage to reach 10 hours, we will have achieved something great,” said Christian Vollmer, responsible for the German brand’s production.
So you will have understood that the difference is made in terms of production. Tesla’s Giga Press are huge molding machines, which greatly simplify the parts that make up the bodywork of each car. To give you an idea, the rear underframe of a Tesla Model Y consists of one and the same piece, instead of 70 pieces before the introduction of these “super” machines.
According to data provided by Tesla, this machine (produced by Idra in Italy) eliminates 300 robots on production lines, thereby considerably reducing manufacturing times. This process is also copied by some Chinese car manufacturers. The method seems to work successfully and Tesla has already confirmed that an evolution of these machines will be used in the production of Cybertruck – the current Giga Press model weighs 2.7 tons, the next one should weigh almost four tons.
