According to foreign media reports, Tesla (Tesla) is expected to set a new delivery record again in 2023, but it may not meet CEO Elon Musk's annual sales target of 2 million vehicles in 2023.
Competitive pressures
At the beginning of 2023, Musk said that without "force majeure", Tesla is on track to achieve its delivery target of 2 million vehicles this year. Tesla has used its industry-leading margins to drive sales several times in 2023 by raising discounts on its main models, slashing the ** of four vehicles globally.
In the Chinese market, which Tesla focuses on, its competitiveness is gradually declining, and its market share is being divided between its own brands and new forces. According to CNBC, an analysis by research firm JL Warren Capital shows that Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y have cut prices in China more than BYD's flagship Han.
In the U.S. market, on the other hand, the war and slowing demand for electric vehicles prompted automakers, including Ford, to withdraw their electrification plans, making Tesla the undisputed leader in the U.S. and helping it more than double this year.
But Tesla will have to deal with the loss of federal tax credits for some of its models in the U.S. and Germany, after Germany** prematurely terminated its EV subsidy program. While interest rates and battery raw material costs are expected to ease, this could force Tesla to cut further next year**.
Daiwa Capital Markets analyst Jairam Nathan lowered his ** on Tesla's deliveries next year to 2.04 million from 2.14 million units, and expects Tesla's average revenue per vehicle to fall by 4% starting in 2023.
Frequent recalls
In addition, in early December, Tesla recalled nearly 2 million vehicles on U.S. roads to install new safety measures, the largest recall in the company's history. In the future, Tesla will also have to deal with the United States and some European countries to tighten regulations on its self-driving systems and other components.
Not only that, a "shocking" investigation published by foreign media on December 20 showed that Tesla had long known that some parts were defective and frequently failed, but the company blamed the car owner.
Two U.S. senators recently sent a letter to Musk saying that Tesla was aware of the vehicle's safety flaws and concealed the cause of those flaws from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). And, in response to Tesla's repeated blaming of driving failures on "misuse" by drivers, the two lawmakers said, "We are deeply disturbed by the practice of blaming customers for failures." Not only is Tesla trying to shift the blame for the substandard quality of its vehicles to consumers, but it is also providing the same false arguments to NHTSA, which is unacceptable. They also called on Musk to "promptly" recall all vehicles that use steering and suspension components that pose a safety hazard.
Other countries are also investigating Tesla's steering and suspension problems, with the Norwegian Highway Administration (NPRA) saying it has launched an investigation into Tesla's Model S and X models, which have problems with sudden breakage of suspension components. The Swedish Transport Agency also said it was investigating suspension failures in Tesla cars.
NPRA claims that it may recommend that Tesla recall all years of Model S and X if it subsequently determines that Model S and X models pose a "serious risk."
On December 22, Tesla said it would recall more than 120,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in the U.S. due to the possibility that the doors could be unlocked and opened during a collision.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tesla released an OTA update for 2021-2023 models that does not meet U.S. federal safety standards for side impact protection.
Insist on reducing costs and increasing efficiency
Tesla has been in real trouble recently, but the large-scale recall has not stopped Tesla's market expansion. "Reducing costs and increasing efficiency" has always been what Musk wants to do, so there have always been rumors that Tesla will produce a low-cost model. It is understood that this low-priced model will use Tesla's latest technology, and the bottom of most of the cars is produced by one-piece die-casting to reduce costs.
In September this year, Tesla announced a technological breakthrough in integrated die casting, which can die cast hundreds of complex parts of an electric vehicle chassis into a single whole. Tesla's internal employees have revealed that the technology is ultimately expected to reduce the production cost of electric vehicles by 50% and reduce factory space by 40%.
This breakthrough will speed up Tesla's production and reduce costs, which may be the key to Tesla's future development of entry-level models and profitability plans.
Musk revealed at Tesla's investor day in the first half of the year that the Mexican factory will produce the next generation of models, the Tesla 2 that has been widely circulated on the Internet$50,000 for an entry-level model, about 17 yuanLess than 90,000 yuan.
It is reported that this model will be the first to start production at the plant in Texas, USA, while the second production line will be launched at the Mexican plant. The new car will be equipped with Tesla's latest technology to significantly reduce costs, further seize the market, and increase product sales and company performance.
It is understood that Tesla will receive 26300 million pesos (1US$5.3 billion). The location is closer to the U.S., which will help Tesla increase production capacity and further expand Tesla's global market share.