Tesla has recently opened their new Gigafactories in both Berlin and Texas. In an interview done by a Californian Tesla Owners club on May 30th, Tesla CEO Elon Musk explains in an interview that both factories are struggling and are losing billions of dollars.
Talking about the Austin, Texas factory, Musk said it “is losing insane money right now, we should be outputting a lot more cars from this factory versus a puny amount of cars.”
Musk cited supply chain issues as the main reason for the low production levels, among them the tools needed to create the 2170 battery cells – which are still stuck in China.
“This is all going to get fixed real fast, but it requires a lot of attention,” Musk continued, “it will take more effort to get this factory into high line production than it took to build it in the first place.”
“Berlin’s in a slightly better position because Berlin started with the 2170 style and did not have the 4680 structural impact risk. But, both Berlin and Austin factories are gigantic money furnaces right now. It should be like a giant roaring sound which is the sound of money on fire. Berlin and Austin are losing billions of dollars right now because there’s a ton of expense and hardly any input,” Musk added.
“The past two years have been an absolute nightmare of supply chain interruptions, one thing after another, and we’re not out of it yet,” Musk said.
Tesla’s overwhelming concern, he continued, is “How do we keep the factories operating so we can pay people and not go bankrupt?”
The electric vehicle maker started production at the factories in Berlin and Texas earlier this year. Musk also told the group he expected Tesla would start production of its Cybertruck electric pickup trucks, which has been delayed, in mid-2023.
The interview can be seen in the Youtube clip below:
