Elon Musk Complains Tesla's Texas and Berlin Plants Lose Billions of Dollars

Tesla boss Elon Musk says newly built electric car factories in Texas and Berlin are suffering billions of dollars in losses. The losses were caused by factories having difficulty increasing production capacity due to battery shortages and problems at Chinese ports. "Both the Berlin and Austin factories are giant money furnaces right now. Okay? It's really like the roaring sound that comes from the sound of money burning," Musk said in an interview with Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley, in Austin, Texas, on May 31. 2022. Musk said Tesla's Texas plant could only produce a small number of cars because production of 4680 batteries was hampered and tools for making conventional 2170 batteries were still stuck in Chinese ports. "This will all be fixed quickly, but requires a lot of attention," said Elon Musk. He said his Berlin factory was in a slightly better position. The factory in Germany uses traditional 2170 batteries for cars made there. He said the closure of the port in Shanghai due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai made the situation very difficult. The closure of the port affected car production not only at Tesla's Shanghai factory, but also in California, which uses some Chinese-made vehicle parts. Tesla plans to suspend most production at its Shanghai plant in the first two weeks of July. "The last two years have been a nightmare of supply chain disruptions, one after the other, and we haven't made our way out of it," said Elon Musk. Tesla's overwhelming concern, he said, was keeping the factory operational. "So we can pay people and not go bankrupt," he said. Previously, Elon Musk, who is the richest person in the world, said he would cut Tesla staff salaries by 10 percent for 3 months. He also cut Tesla's hiring and employees because of the threat of an economic recession in the United States. Tesla earlier this year started production at its Berlin and Texas plants, both of which are crucial to the top electric car maker's growth ambitions. Elon Musk hopes Tesla will start production of the delayed Cybertruck electric pickup truck by mid-2023.