【Fengchao Network】
According to foreign media reports, after the stock market closed on Wednesday, local time in the United States, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla announced its fourth quarter 2021 financial report. According to the financial report, tesla's fourth-quarter revenue was $17.72 billion, up 65% year-on-year, net profit of $2.3 billion, up 760% year-on-year, and earnings per share of $2.05, up 754% year-over-year, according to the financial report. Electric vehicle deliveries reached 308,650 units, up 71% year-on-year. But as Tesla warned of heightened supply chain problems, the stock fell slightly in after-hours trading.
The following are the key points of Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings report:
Revenue of $17.72 billion, up 65 percent from $10,744 million in the year-ago quarter and higher than analysts' consensus estimates of $16.57 billion, driven by increases in vehicle deliveries and other businesses;
Operating income was $2.6 billion, up 354% from $575 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin of 14.7%, up from 5.4% in the year-ago quarter;
Net profit was US$2.3 billion, up 760% from US$270 million in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 27.4%, up from 26.6% in the previous quarter and 19.4% in the year-ago quarter;
Earnings per share were $2.05, up 754% from $0.24 in the year-ago quarter, and higher than the generally expected $2.36 for the analysis;
Electric vehicle deliveries reached 308,650 units, up 71 percent from 180667 units in the same period last year. Full-year deliveries were 936172 vehicles, up 87 percent from 2020, when Tesla delivered 499647 cars.
Cash and cash equivalents increased by $1.5 billion to $17.6 billion in the fourth quarter. Total debt (excluding financing for automotive and energy products) fell to $1.4 billion by the end of 2021.
Automobile production:
1) California and Texas, USA
At the end of 2021, the Texas plant will start production of Model Y cars. After the final certification, Tesla plans to begin delivering to customers. The Fremont plant achieved record production in 2021 and is expected to have a total capacity of more than 600,000 units per year. Tesla's goal is to maximize production at the Fremont plant while expanding the new plant.
2) Shanghai, China
For the full year of 2021, production of the Model 3 and Model Y continued to rise. Local production is critical to reducing the cost per vehicle and improving the stability of the global supply chain. The Shanghai factory remains Tesla's main export center.
3) Berlin, Europe
Testing of equipment in the vehicle's production process began at the end of 2021, but Tesla is still working to obtain production permits from the local government, which will allow it to begin delivering German-made cars in Europe. The first cars will use 2170 batteries.
Core technology progress
1) Autopilot and FSD
Tesla continues to iterate on the FSD Beta software, releasing 7 updates throughout the quarter. Tesla has increased the number of FSD Betas in the U.S. from a few thousand in the third quarter to nearly 60,000. IIHS rated the visual-only Model 3 and Model Y as "superior" in terms of collision avoidance features and gave it the highest rating possible, "Top Safety Pick+".
2) Tool software
Tesla released a new user interface in the fourth quarter with a customizable app launcher, simplified control menus, and support for a dark mode look. Other features include a live view of the car's blind spots when the turn signal is activated, editable navigation points, and a range of new gaming, entertainment, and audio features. When Sentinel mode is activated, Tesla also added a live view of the car's camera to the phone app.
3) Battery, powertrain and manufacturing
Manufacturing is a key core competitiveness of Tesla. While batteries are expensive and electric vehicles are often considered structurally unprofitable, Tesla believes that manufacturing innovation, special-purpose cars and factories will help solve the cost problem. In the third quarter of 2021, Tesla achieved the highest operating margin of any production OEM. In the last two quarters of 2021, the cost per vehicle (COGS) fell to around $36,000. Tesla believes that the current project should help them continue to reduce product costs, including the use of large castings, structural battery packs, 4680 batteries and many other innovations.
Other highlights
1) Energy storage
In 2021, Tesla's energy storage equipment deployment increased by 32% year-on-year, mainly driven by the strong deployment of Megapack. As demand still far exceeds capacity, growth is constrained by a lack of supply. Tesla is building a dedicated Megapack factory to meet growing demand.
2) Solar retrofits and solar roofs
Solar deployment in 2021 will be 345 MW, up 68% year-on-year. Solar roof deployments nearly tripled year-over-year in 2021 and continued to grow in the fourth quarter. Tesla is further reducing costs, especially installation costs, to improve energy profitability.
3) Services and others
Gross margin growth in the Services and other businesses to -2.7% in 2021 was the best performance in five years and slightly above breakeven in the fourth quarter of 2021. While used car sales remained strong in 2021, profit contributions from other business units such as services, merchandise and parts sales also improved.
Future outlook
1) Production capacity
Tesla plans to increase production capacity as soon as possible. Over the next few years, the company expects vehicle deliveries to grow at an average annual rate of 50 percent. The growth rate will depend on their equipment capacity, operational efficiency, and supply chain capacity and stability. With supply chains becoming a major limiting factory, Tesla's own factory has been operating at low load for several consecutive quarters, which could last throughout 2022.
2) Cash
Tesla claims to have sufficient liquidity to support its product roadmap, long-term capacity expansion plans and other expenses.
3) Profit
While the company continues to innovate to reduce manufacturing and operating costs, over time, they expect its hardware-related profits to accelerate along with software-related profits.
4) Production
Production speeds at the Austin, USA, and Berlin, Germany, facilities will be affected by the successful introduction of many new products and manufacturing technologies at the new locations, ongoing supply chain-related challenges, and regional licensing. Tesla is making progress in the industrialization of electric pickups, which are currently scheduled to be produced in Austin after the Model Y.
On Wednesday, local time in the United States, Tesla shares closed at $937.41 per share, up 2.07%. But in after-hours trading, the stock fell slightly as Tesla warned that supply chain problems could persist throughout 2022.
Here are the press photos:
Fremont Plant – 2021 breaks production record
The Berlin Gigafactory – Graffiti
Giberufactory Berlin – quality control
The Berlin Gigafactory – a bodybuilding workshop
The Berlin Gigafactory – the final assembly workshop
Texas Gigafactory – Exterior
Texas Gigafactory – Final Assembly Workshop
Texas Gigafactory – Painting Workshop
Texas Gigafactory – Connecting seats to structural battery packs
Shanghai Gigafactory - Exterior View
Shanghai Super Factory - Final Assembly Workshop
Tesla Semi
Cumulative profitability since inception
(Unaudited)
Net profit attributable to general shareholders (loss) (in billions of US dollars)
Retained earnings (cumulative loss) (in billions of US dollars)
Track quarterly key metrics – quarterly
Vehicle deliveries (in millions)
Operating Cash Flow (IN$ billion)
Free cash flow (in billions of DOLLARs)
Net Profit (in billions of DOLLARs)
Adjusted EBITDA (in billions)
Track quarterly key metrics – the last 12 months