Tesla, Inc. CEO Musk said on the earnings call on Wednesday.He thinks inflation in the United States may be more serious than officially reported and may continue throughout 2022.

Figures released by the labor department earlier this month showed that the annual inflation rate in the United states was 8.5% in march, a 40-year high, as the war between Russia and Ukraine pushed up energy prices.

Mr Musk made the remarks in response to a question from an analyst. The analyst questioned Tesla, Inc. 's recent price increases and how Tesla, Inc. plans to achieve its long-term goal of providing pure electric cars to Volkswagen to reduce people's dependence on fossil fuels.

Mr Musk said Tesla, Inc. absolutely wanted to make electric cars as cheap as possible, but regretted that pricing could be a challenge in a changing macroeconomic situation. Musk said:

"I think the official figures actually underestimate the true extent of inflation. Inflation seems likely to continue for at least the rest of the year. "

In some cases, Tesla, Inc. suppliers demand 20 to 30 per cent higher prices for parts than in 2021, he says.

"the reason why we can keep costs down, at least in the short term, is that we have locked in contracts with suppliers. It is clear that these modular contracts will expire, and then we will begin to see a significant increase in potential costs. "

Mr Musk and other Tesla, Inc. executives said on a conference call that Tesla, Inc. was particularly faced with rising costs for raw materials, commodities and overseas logistics.

With Tesla, Inc. 's recent price increases in the US and China, analysts wonder if Mr Musk thinks the company may need to raise prices again.

Musk said no. The current pricing is based on Tesla, Inc. 's expectation of a possible increase in costs. "the current price is for cars delivered in the next 6 to 12 months, so this is our best guess. "but he warned that"obviously, we cannot control the macroeconomic environment" and "whether the government continues to print large amounts of money".