Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, stated that the dual challenge of the global chip shortage and shipping shortages is the only thing standing in the way of his company maintaining a sales growth of over 50%. During Tesla's annual shareholder meeting held on Thursday in Austin, Texas, Musk mentioned, "We've had a great year, achieving record vehicle sales... it seems we have a good chance of maintaining that." He added, "Primarily, if we can get the chips, we will be able to accomplish that. I hope this chip shortage will decrease soon, but I am confident in my ability to maintain at least 50% for a long time."
Regarding shipping shortages, while the chip shortage has dominated headlines in the automotive industry this year, Musk said that the electric vehicle leader has faced "many" supply chain challenges. "One of the biggest challenges we faced in the third quarter was: Can we get enough shipping boats... there has been a significant shortage of shipping vessels," he noted.
However, so far, the chip shortage does not appear to be slowing Tesla down. The company reported earlier this week a record delivery of 241,300 vehicles worldwide in the third quarter, surpassing the previous record of 201,250 vehicles in the second quarter.
Tesla's figures contrast positively with the rest of the automotive sector, which saw a decline in U.S. vehicle sales over the last three months due to production limitations from supply chain shortages. General Motors faced the biggest hit, with sales in its domestic market dropping by a third in the last quarter.
Musk mentioned that "significant cost pressures" in the supply chain forced Tesla to raise vehicle prices, at least temporarily. He added, "The huge amount of money we are spending to ship parts around the world is not a good thing." Musk indicated that it might take at least 12 months before things start to improve, stating, "We should be able to overcome the acute supply chain shortage in 2023... I am optimistic that it will be so."
