Analysts forecast record revenues and possible supply chain issues ahead of Tesla results
Ahead of tomorrow’s full year results, analysts have forecast that while Tesla’s revenue are expected to skyrocket, the car manufacturer could not be exempt from supply chain issues.
“I would not be surprised if Tesla has some significant manufacturing challenges, producing the new vehicle structures and new batteries in high volumes,” Sam Abuelsamid, analyst at Guidehouse Insights, told Reuters.
Tesla was not as impacted by the ongoing supply chain and semiconductor crisis as some of its rivals, as it delivered 308,600 models in the fourth quarter of 2021, beating analysts’ expectations.
Deliveries for the whole 2021 increased 87 per cent on 2020, as the Austin-based automotive maker dispatched 936,172 vehicles. Tesla also sold a record 70,847 China-made cars in December – the highest number since it started manufacturing in Shanghai in 2019.
According to financial services company Moody’s, Tesla will remain the world’s leading battery-electric vehicle manufacturer, as a result of its outlook remaining positive.
Tesla’s scalability is expected to increase, following the opening of gigafactories in Berlin and Texable, which have the capacity of doubling production but could also constitute a risk.
Analysts’ predictions follow yesterday’s announcement that Panasonic will invest £522m in the development of lithium-ion batteries for Tesla.
“We are studying various options for mass production, including a test production line we are establishing this business year. We don’t, however, have anything to announce at this time,” Panasonic said in a statement sent yesterday to Reuters.