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Robots in, Cybertruck out: What Elon Musk had to say on Tesla’s earnings call

Musk said the company won't release any new models this year as the chip shortage and supply chain issues continue.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk said Tesla won't produce any new models in 2022.

Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday, Elon Musk said the company won’t produce any new models this year.

Tesla reported overall strong earnings with revenue growing 65% year-over-year in the quarter, and automotive revenue rising to $15.97 billion. Musk addressed a range of issues during the call, including the persistent chip shortage, supply chain concerns and Tesla’s autonomous vehicle push.

Big bots

Musk said building a humanoid robot is the company’s primary focus in terms of products. The company said in August that it’s working on a “Tesla Bot” and expects to have a prototype within the year.

No new models in 2022

A Tesla shareholder deck revealed supply chain woes continue to be its “main limiting factor” to production, and those issues will probably continue into this year.

Musk said the ongoing chip crisis continues to impact Tesla. As a result, the company won’t produce any new vehicles this year and will instead prioritize delivering its existing vehicles. “If we were to introduce new vehicles, our total vehicle output will decrease,” he said.

That means Tesla won’t come out with a $25,000 car, an idea which had been floated as a relatively cheaper option. “At some point we will. We have enough on our plate right now,” Musk said. The company has also yet to release its Cybertruck and Roadster, but Musk said he hopes they'll be ready by 2023.

'Safer than a human'

The company wrote that building autonomous vehicles “remains one of our primary areas of focus.”

“Over time, our software-related profit should accelerate our overall profitability,” the company said.

The NHTSA launched an investigation into Tesla's driver assistance features following accidents with the vehicles. Later in 2021, U.S. vehicle safety regulators began to examine the safety of Tesla's new gaming features. Tesla said it would update its Passenger Play software just after the latter probe began.

Despite regulators' concerns, Musk appeared confident in achieving full self-driving. The company said 60,000 vehicles in the U.S. now have the Full Self-Driving Beta. “I would be shocked if we do not achieve Full Self-Driving safer than a human this year," Musk said. "I would be shocked.”

Sarah Roach

Sarah (Sarahroach_) writes for Source Code at Protocol. She's based in Boston and can be reached at sroach@protocol.com

elon muskearningstesla
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