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Compensation of $ 245 million
: Tesla boss
Elon Musk
has had a good quarter
Photo: ALY SONG / REUTERS
Despite the global chip crisis and problems in the supply chains, the US electric car manufacturer Tesla earned more in 2021 than ever before in a financial year.
The bottom line is that the group reported a profit of 5.5 billion US dollars (4.9 billion euros) on Wednesday, 665 percent more than in the previous year.
Revenues climbed 71 percent to $53.8 billion, Tesla said on Wednesday after the US stock market closed in Austin.
The US company once again exceeded the expectations of the analysts.
In the announcement, the company of tech billionaire
Elon Musk
(50) described 2021 as a "breakthrough year for Tesla".
There is now no longer any doubt about the profitability of electric cars.
Tesla had been in the red for a long time and only posted its first annual profit since the company was founded in 2003 in 2020.
The group is now earning well: the operating margin is 12.1 percent, higher than most recently at the other major car manufacturers.
In the fourth quarter, the surplus rose to $2.3 billion;
Tesla increased sales to $17.7 billion in the three months to the end of December – analysts had only expected $16.5 billion, according to data service provider Refinitiv.
The company clearly exceeded expectations.
CEO Elon Musk received $245 million in compensation for the quarter.
He had reached important milestones in his performance-based compensation agreement.
In the course of 2022, this can be significantly more.
Investors, however, reacted cautiously.
The share initially recorded significant price declines after the trading hours.
Tesla warned in the quarterly report that global semiconductor shortages could continue.
"Our own factories have been running below capacity for several quarters as the supply chain is the main limiting factor, which is likely to continue into 2022," Tesla said in a statement.
This is likely to put a strain on production and make it difficult for the company to reach full capacity at its plants.
In 2021, Tesla delivered more than 936,000 cars, almost double the previous year.
The Model Y has been produced in the new factory in Austin/Texas since the end of 2021, but final approval is still missing.
There was initially no news about the new factory in Grünheide, and the group is also waiting for approval from the authorities here.
lhy/dpa
