Tesla’s new factories in Germany and the United States, according to Elon Musk, are “losing billions of dollars” due to battery shortages and supply disruptions in China.
The multibillionaire also referred to the plants in Berlin and Austin, Texas as “colossal money furnaces.”
Covid-
This year, 19 lockdowns in China have made it increasingly difficult for manufacturers to operate, including in Shanghai, where Tesla has a large factory.
Mr Musk has recently warned of job cuts at the company.
“Right now, both the Berlin and Austin factories are massive money machines. It sounds like a massive roaring sound, which is the sound of money on fire “said Mr Musk, the CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer.
The plants are “losing billions of dollars right now. There’s a ton of expense and hardly any output,” he added in an interview with the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley, a company-recognised club.
Mr Musk said the so-called gigafactories have been struggling to increase production since they were opened earlier this year.
Tesla’s site in Austin currently produces a “tiny” number of cars, partly because some components for its batteries were “stuck” at a Chinese port “with no one to actually move it”, he said.