On April 21, 2022, Tesla released its first quarter 2022 financial report. According to the financial report data, Tesla has achieved profitability for 11 consecutive quarters. In the middle of the quarter, Tesla withstood multiple pressures such as supply chain challenges, broke out of strong vitality, and became a strong agent for economic recovery.
In this earnings report, Tesla mentioned that the Shanghai Gigafactory had sufficient production capacity in the first quarter, and after a short suspension of work, it has successfully resumed work and production, and will continue to contribute to Tesla's delivery in China and even the world, as well as Shanghai's economic recovery. Musk also praised the Shanghai Gigafactory and the Chinese team in this earnings call.
In addition, in the case of the public paying more and more attention to the future of sustainability, Tesla's energy storage product Powerwall has received wider attention, the installed capacity of solar roofs continues to grow, and the charging network continues to expand, continuing to help save energy and reduce carbon, and building a clean and environmentally friendly future with users.
1. Operation
In the first quarter of 2022, Tesla's total revenue reached $18.8 billion, an increase of 81% year-on-year. GAAP reported an operating profit of $3.6 billion, resulting in an operating margin of 19.2%. GAAP net income was $3.3 billion, non-GAAP net profit (excluding share-based expenses) was $3.7 billion, and total debt excluding automotive and energy product financing fell to less than $100 million.
Financial Summary for the First Quarter of 2022
Interpretation: In the first quarter, in the overall pressure of the market environment, Tesla rose to the challenge and still achieved a high level of profitability. The year-on-year increase in Tesla's operating income was mainly affected by factors such as increased deliveries and lower bicycle costs.
It is worth noting that Tesla has quickly responded to difficulties such as lack of cores through a perfect supply system, and has reversed the situation and successfully broken the situation faster than other car companies. This is not only conducive to improving the speed of delivery, allowing more users to enjoy a high-quality, more environmentally friendly travel experience as soon as possible, but also injecting a booster into the economic recovery of the industry.
In the future, Tesla will continue to innovate to reduce manufacturing and operating costs, and continue to provide a strong driving force for the development of the entire automotive and new energy industry, as well as upstream and downstream supply chains.
Second, the output and factory
In the first quarter of 2022, the Shanghai Gigafactory continued to provide strong production capacity, while Tesla's production capacity continued to accelerate with the commissioning of two new Gigafactories in Berlin and Texas.
The Berlin Gigafactory, which started operations in March, will produce the Model Y with a non-structural battery version equipped with a 2170 cell, and will use a structural battery pack with a 4680 cell and a non-structural battery pack with a 2170 cell. The Texas Gigafactory, which went into operation in April, delivered the first cars equipped with 4680 self-developed batteries, one-piece die-cast front bodies and structural batteries, marking an important milestone in Tesla's efforts to increase production capacity. Later this year, the Texas Gigafactory is expected to produce the Model Y with structural battery packs from 4680 cells and non-structural battery packs from 2170 cells, after which Cyberruck will also start production at the plant.
Interpretation: In the first quarter of 2022, although Tesla is still facing global supply chain, logistics and transportation, labor and other production challenges, the factory is not fully operating, but still in the production and delivery speed has achieved relatively excellent results, the production of two new gigafactories has also brought new vitality to Tesla's production line.
It is worth noting that the weekly production capacity of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory in the first quarter is still strong, and it has resumed work in an orderly and scientific manner after a short suspension of production recently, and the current production capacity is steadily climbing to ensure the supply of domestic and foreign products. On the conference call, Musk specifically praised the excellent work of the Tesla China team and the Shanghai Gigafactory.
With the support of Shanghai and local governments, More than 100 parts manufacturers at Tesla are gradually working together to resume work and production and smooth logistics. Many Tesla parts suppliers in Shanghai began to resume work, becoming the region with the largest proportion of Tesla supplier partners resuming work and production. Tesla suppliers located in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other provinces are also actively linking under the guidance of the government, ensuring production, and opening up logistics to support Tesla vehicle manufacturing. This has played a positive role in promoting the resumption of work and production and economic recovery in Shanghai and surrounding areas.
Third, the core technology
For a long time, Tesla has continued to update and iterate the beta software of fully autonomous driving capability (FSD), and has released seven updates in 2022 alone, continuously improving the stability of various driving situations. Tesla said it plans to release beta software this year for owners across the U.S. who have purchased full self-driving capabilities.
In terms of vehicle software, Tesla updated the climate control mode function in the mobile app in the first quarter (including pet mode, camping mode, biological weapons defense mode and in-car overheating protection function, etc.), and car owners can now customize their own car colors in the user interface, with metal and matte finishes. Tesla also improves the accuracy of the estimated charging time by calculating the battery temperature and allows for the child lock to be set on one side of the back door or on both sides at the same time.
In terms of batteries that have attracted much attention, nearly half of Tesla's tesla vehicles delivered in the first quarter of 2022 are equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries that do not contain nickel or cobalt. At present, most of Tesla's standard endurance vehicles and commercial energy storage use lithium iron phosphate batteries, thanks to energy-efficient motors, the Model 3 equipped with lithium iron phosphate battery pack can still achieve 267 miles of EPA range.
Interpretation: Using technology to create a better travel experience for users, promote the common progress of the industry, and make the world a better place is Tesla's unremitting pursuit. In the first quarter of 2022, the Tesla team continued to improve the FSD, improving the user experience through multiple OTAs, and user recognition continued to increase. At present, Tesla's FSD test program has more than 100,000 drivers involved, coupled with the training of the Dojo supercomputer, FSD is accelerating the improvement, with practical actions to accelerate the arrival of the era of autonomous driving.
At the same time, Tesla has driven the industry to grow together with technology by opening up patents. Since 2014, Tesla has opened more than 300 patents, and will continue to open more patented technologies in the future to continue to help the rapid development of the new energy industry, intelligent transportation, smart cities and artificial intelligence.
In terms of battery technology, the diversification of battery chemical composition is crucial for long-term production capacity improvement, in order to better optimize products, meet the diversified use needs of car owners, and expand the supplier system, Tesla gradually adopts lithium iron phosphate batteries on a large scale. In addition, Tesla's Texas Gigafactory already has the ability to produce 4680 batteries, and Musk said at his opening ceremony that the Texas Gigafactory will eventually become the world's largest battery factory.
Fourth, energy storage business and services
Driven by the energy storage product Powerwall, Tesla's installed energy storage products in the first quarter increased by 90% year-on-year to 846 MWh (MWh). As market demand continues to outpace capacity, energy storage business growth remains constrained by supply chain challenges. Tesla is currently increasing the capacity of factories specializing in the production of Megapack products to meet the growing market demand.
In the first quarter, the installed capacity of Tesla's solar roof continued to grow, and almost all products are currently purchased by cash or loans.
In terms of services, Tesla's gross margin for after-sales service and other businesses in the first quarter was almost in break-even (-0.6%). The year-on-year growth was mainly due to the strong boost of used car sales, as well as the growth of other related products, Tesla sheet metal spray center and related services business. Tesla's insurance business also continues to expand, with recent insurance products launched in Colorado, Oregon, and Virginia.
Interpretation: "Accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy" is Tesla's long-term unremitting pursuit, not only committed to bringing environmentally friendly and efficient electric vehicle products to more consumers, widely applying clean energy in its major gigafactories, but also bringing energy storage business and solar energy transformation business to more people.
In China, Tesla's charging network has continued to expand, helping Tesla owners to achieve a driving range of 11 billion kilometers, equivalent to more than 280,000 laps around the earth, achieving a carbon dioxide emission reduction of 2.54 million tons, and planting about 5.08 million hectares of forest on the earth. At present, the number of superchargering stations opened for tesla in Chinese mainland has also exceeded 1100, covering more than 370 cities in China.
Under the leadership of Tesla, more and more people have begun to be enthusiastic about a sustainable future, and through the use of new energy vehicles and clean energy, they have taken practical actions to participate in the ranks of energy conservation and carbon reduction.
summary:
At a critical moment in the global economic recovery, Tesla's bright performance in the first quarter of 2022 undoubtedly brought a strong light.
In China, the resumption of work and production of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory has injected a "bloody" "electric pump" into the entire Chinese automobile industry, which has become a learning model for various enterprises.
Since its completion, the significance of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory has long been not only a factory, but also a powerful driving force for the economic development of the surrounding areas. Shanghai Super Factory has not only cultivated a large number of talents for China's new energy industry, improved the people's livelihood in the surrounding areas of the factory station, but also promoted the construction of the entire new energy vehicle industry chain in Shanghai and surrounding cities, involving ten major parts such as powertrain systems, electric drive systems, charging, chassis, etc., with hundreds of suppliers. Located around Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Kunshan and other places of primary and secondary electric vehicle parts suppliers are also booming, the Shanghai super factory resumed work in an orderly manner, but also led to the recovery of Supply Chain and logistics in Shanghai and surrounding areas.
In the future, Tesla will continue to drive the development of upstream and downstream supply chains, stimulate the common progress of the whole industry, and work with global partners and industry partners to promote the world's transformation to sustainable energy, and help the steady recovery of the world economy.