On Sunday evening, Mar. 13, Elon Musk relayed a slew of concerns surrounding both SpaceX and Tesla regarding inflation with logistics and raw materials. He added that SpaceX and Tesla aren't the only companies affected, adding a link to a Financial Times article detailing heightening commodity prices amid his Twitter rant.
Various metals, like high-grade nickel, palladium, and aluminum, all of which are utilized in car manufacturing, have skyrocketed in value like a SpaceX starship. This is due to the ways automobile parts suppliers are using other methods to export goods without Russian interference.
Tesla & SpaceX are seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials & logistics
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022
While sanctions on metals have yet to be set in place via U.S. and U.K. lawmakers, said exporters are still finding ways to skirt Russian exporting, which has upended logistics and pricing for said materials. Thanks to the still ongoing chip shortage and increasing energy prices, the car industry is already in a bind.
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Tesla boosted the MSRP of its Model Y SUVs and the Long Range Model 3 sedans by about $1,000 last week to meet the impending nickel price rises and surmounting logistics concerns. Similar reactions were made for China-made Tesla vehicles, with the aforementioned Model 3 and Model Y increasing by 10,000 yuan, or around $1,580. Despite the price bump, Model y sales jumped 4x in Feb 2022.
Friday's stock market close proves Tesla is in a bind on the ticker, as well. Tesla stock was 5% lower at close on Friday, amounting to $795.35, and has been down 25% year-to-date.
Tesla isn't the only auto manufacturer experiencing woes with both logistics and materials acquisition. Toyota itself has relayed it will be cutting back production by about 20% from April to June. Rivian also been experiencing severe supply chain constraints that cut production costs and time.
Musk has been quite vocal on social media over the past several days. He even dared Russian president Vladimir Putin to a literal fisticuff with the winner being awarded Ukraine. Musk also posted several memes targeting the Ukrainian invasion, despite avid support of the country through SpaceX and Starlink.
