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 multi-billionaire also called the plants in Berlin and Austin, Texas “gigantic money furnaces”.
Covid-19 lockdowns in China this year, including in Shanghai where Tesla has a huge factory, have made it increasingly difficult for manufacturers to operate.
In recent weeks Mr Musk has been warning of job cuts at the firm.
“Both Berlin and Austin factories are gigantic money furnaces right now. It’s really like a giant roaring sound, which is the sound of money on fire,” said Mr Musk, who is the electric vehicle maker’s chief executive.
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.
“This is all going to get fixed real fast but it requires a lot of attention,” Mr Musk added.
