Tesla CEO Elon Musk has disclosed he is confident that the ongoing chip shortage will be solved by 2022, despite others having reservations. The chip drought is “short term, I think,” the billionaire said in an appearance by video at Italian Tech Week in Turin (Via Reuters).
“There’s a lot of chip fabrication plants that are being built,” Musk said during a joint session with Stellantis and Ferrari Chairman John Elkann, at Italian Tech Week. “I think we will have good capacity for providing chips by next year,” he added.
The two automotive industry leaders agreed on potential support coming from nuclear power to cover for increasing global energy needs. “I am surprised by a recent move away of some countries form nuclear energy, which is safe,” Elon Musk said.
But in their dialogue they avoided referring to competition issues between top electric mobility leaders such as Tesla and legacy automakers now investing heavily to expand their offer of electrified vehicles. Musk however thanked Elkann for a support Tesla received between 2017 and 2019 from Comau, the robot unit of Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, during what he called “one of the most painful periods” for his company, linked to the launch of production on Model 3.
A boom in electric vehicle sales and renewed activity following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in many advanced economies has boosted demand for car parts. But the auto industry is butting up against other sectors that require large amounts of semiconductors as inputs, including computing, smartphones and smart devices.
Tesla has so far overcome the chip shortage by switching to different designs and rewriting the relevant software. In the second quarter, the carmaker delivered a record number of vehicles and topped $1 billion of net profit for the first time.
