TESLA POSTS RECORD PROFIT, WON'T PRODUCE NEW MODELS IN 2022

Tesla Inc. posted record fourth-quarter and full-year earnings as deliveries of its electric vehicles soared despite a global shortage of computer chips that has slowed the entire auto industry.

Although the company predicted it would be able to build 50% more vehicles than it made last year, CEO Elon Musk said the chip shortage would stop the company from rolling out any new models in 2022. That means another delay for the Cybertruck pickup, which was originally scheduled to go on sale last year.

Musk also said Tesla isn’t yet working on a promised $25,000 small electric car, but it will.

“We have enough on our plate right now, quite frankly,” he said.

And Musk said the company is looking at building additional factories and will offer an update on locations later in the year.

The Austin, Texas, company made $5.5 billion last year compared with the previous record year of $721 million in net income posted in 2020. Musk said the annual profit pushed the company’s accumulated earnings since its 2003 inception into profitable territory.

Last year was a breakthrough year for the company, Musk said on a conference call with analysts.

“There should no longer be doubt about the viability and profitability of electric vehicles,” Tesla said in a letter to shareholders.