htmlOn October 20, Tesla released its third quarter financial report for 2022. Data shows that during the reporting period, Tesla's total revenue was US$21.5 billion, and increased by 56% year-on-year; GAAP ( GAAP) operating profit was US$3.7 billion, with a profit margin of 17.2%; operating cash flow ( free cash flow ) after deducting capital expenditures was US$3.3 billion. It is understood that this is Tesla's 13th consecutive quarter to achieve profitability.
Musk: Tesla can surpass the sum of the market value of Apple and Saudi Aramco. Self-driving cannot be approved this year
financial report released, Tesla CEO Elon Musk attended the financial report conference call. He said Tesla's operating results set a new record in the third quarter, with operating margin leading the industry, and free cash flow reached nearly $9 billion in the past year. Musk is also very confident about his performance in the fourth quarter. He said that with the increase in factories, in the foreseeable future, the production and sales of Tesla Auto will continue to grow at an average annual growth rate of 50%.
Musk also answered the repurchase issue that many investors are concerned about. "There has been extensive debate on the idea of repurchase at the board level, and we usually think repurchases make sense. Tesla may conduct $5 billion to $10 billion next year, and the specific situation remains to be reviewed and approved by the board."
Musk pointed out that it is very important for companies and investors to pay attention to in the long run. He believes that Tesla's market value can far exceed Apple's current market value, and may even exceed the combined market value of Apple and Saudi Aramco.
Of course, it is not easy to achieve such achievements. Musk said this requires Tesla to do a lot of work, including the development of innovative products, the expansion of management and good luck all the time.
Musk also mentioned the progress of Tesla's autonomous driving research and development. "We will achieve full autonomous driving, and I think we will be done soon."
Tesla expects to release a large-scale fully autonomous driving beta version in North America by the end of this year, and hopes to release full fully autonomous driving software to all order users by the end of the year. "You can drive a car from home to your office, to a friend's house, to a grocery store without touching the steering wheel, which looks great."
However, Musk also admitted that the complete autonomous driving system will not be approved by regulatory authorities this year.
Lithium carbonate price remains high. Will the battery supply chain be restricted and will continue to challenge the new energy vehicle industry?
Tesla mentioned today that the restriction of the battery supply chain will be the main limiting factor in the medium- and long-term growth of the electric vehicle market.
According to Tianmu News reporters, Tesla's proposed limitations in the battery supply chain are largely due to the mismatch between supply and demand of upstream power battery raw materials. According to the research report released by Guanyan Report Network in September this year, with the rapid growth of new energy vehicle production in recent years, the global lithium consumption structure has undergone major changes. In 2021, the battery industry consumed 78% of the global lithium ore production, becoming an absolute downstream area of lithium ore consumption.
However, the mining of lithium ore cannot keep up with the growth in the market demand of new energy vehicles, and this mismatch has caused the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate to rise sharply. Data shows that lithium carbonate soared from 40,000 yuan/ton in 2020 to nearly 540,000 yuan/ton today, a surge of more than 13 times in two years.
How do companies in the new energy vehicle industry view this situation and how will they adjust the price of cars?
NIO founder Li Bin this month in a media interview, including Tianmu News reporters, said that according to the situation under NIO, although the price of lithium carbonate has risen recently, the overall trend is going down. "We expect that the supply of lithium will improve greatly in the second half of next year."
Li Bin believes that the current high price is not entirely a decision of supply and demand, and there are many complex factors. “We think the price of lithium will go down because its actual mining cost is there, and there is no reason to be so high."But Li Bin also mentioned that if the cost of battery remains high, it will undoubtedly bring challenges to the profitability of the entire smart electric vehicle industry.
. At this Tesla earnings call, Musk answered analyst George Gianarikas said in a question that many commodities , such as copper and iron, are continuing to fall, but battery-grade lithium carbonate is still very expensive, so Tesla will closely monitor and comprehensively weigh the changes to set prices.
, BYD Co., Ltd. , Chairman of , , Wang Chuanfu, also expressed his opinions on this. At the China New Energy Vehicle Development High-level Forum (2022) held on September 23, Wang Chuanfu said that many lithium mines have been discovered in China recently, but the mining is not that fast, but the market is growing very fast, so there is a tight supply. Wang Chuanfu believes that my country's lithium resources are generally sufficient, which can meet the demand for comprehensive electrification of 300 million vehicles in the country.
