In Tesla, Inc. 's first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Mr Musk said he thought US inflation was more serious than officially reported and could continue for the whole year in 2022.

Mr Musk made the remarks in response to a question from an analyst.The analyst questioned the recent price increase for Tesla, Inc. cars and how Tesla, Inc. plans to achieve his long-term goal of promoting electric vehicles to Volkswagen.

Tesla, Inc. recently raised prices in the United States, China and some other countries. The electric car maker's results on Wednesday beat Wall Street expectations.It reflects that the price increase has helped it offset the impact of supply chain chaos and rising costs.

Mr Musk said Tesla, Inc. absolutely wanted to make electric cars as cheap as possible, but unfortunately, pricing could be a challenge in the face of changing macroeconomic conditions.

He said:

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

Musk pointed outSome suppliers are demanding a 20% to 30% increase in parts costs between 2021 and 2022, well above the 8.5% inflation rate announced by the Labor Department last Tuesday.

He said:

"the reason why we are able to hold down costs, at least in the short term, is that we have locked in contracts with suppliers. But it is clear that these contracts will expire and then we will begin to see a substantial increase in potential costs. "

At the earnings meeting, analysts wondered if Mr Musk thought the company might need to raise prices again soon.

Musk's answer is no, he said, "the current price is for vehicles delivered in the next six to 12 months," which includes Tesla, Inc. 's expectation of an increase in raw material supply and logistics costs.

In addition, Mr Musk and other Tesla, Inc. executives have stressed that Tesla, Inc. faces rising costs for raw materials, commodities and overseas logistics.

Mr Musk re-stressed the importance of raw materials, saying the surge in lithium prices was one of the reasons for rising costs and a "constraint" on the growth of electric vehicles, and encouraged entrepreneurs to consider entering the lithium production business. to supply Tesla, Inc. and other growing battery and electric vehicle industries.

He said:

"at present, the profit of the lithium industry is actually comparable to that of the software industry. Like, do you like printing money (making a lot of money)? Well, the lithium business is for you. "