A Musk-ular quarter [skynesher/E+ via Getty Images]
Elon(g) profit streak… nine quarters long, to be exact. Tesla notched another sales and delivery record last quarter. Despite supply-chain crunches and a global chip shortage, Tesla has been resilient compared to other carmakers, and still plans to boost deliveries by 50% each year.
A Muskular effort... Tesla wasn’t immune to supply struggles: Its gig factories still aren’t operating at full capacity, which means longer delivery times and slower product rollouts (new Cybertruck ETA: 2023). Still, Tesla owns multiple stages of its own supply chain (it’s “vertically integrated”). Think: Tesla makes the machine that makes the Tesla. That's made it more resilient during the pandemic than many other carmakers.
Sometimes fewer products can mean more profits… especially during a global supply shortage. Legacy car manufacturers like GM and Ford produce numerous models on a larger scale. Meanwhile, Tesla and Chinese EV rival Nio offer just a handful, relying on a leaner supply chain to meet demand. Like Tesla, Nio also posted record deliveries last quarter, partly thanks to China’s investment in domestic production.