Tesla, Inc. went on a price hike in March, and Musk seemed to be getting further and further away from his dream of launching a more affordable electric car.

The new wave of COVID-19 epidemic and the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine aggravate the global supply chain crisis, the cost of superimposed raw materials is soaring, and the electric vehicle industry is facing huge price pressure.

Tesla, Inc. raised prices and his income in the first quarter exceeded expectations.

In March, Tesla, Inc. frantically raised prices three times in a week. As for the reason for the price increase, Tesla, Inc. said that it is mainly due to the rising cost of raw materials.

Tesla, Inc. released his results for the first quarter of 2022 after U. S. stocks opened on Wednesday, April 20, Eastern time. Revenue, profit and gross profit margin in the first quarter were all higher than the market consensus expected.

Tesla, Inc. 's operating income in the first quarter increased by 81% compared with the same period last year, the adjusted net profit increased by 255%, and the gross profit margin of the automobile business exceeded 30% for the third consecutive quarter.

While releasing the financial report, Tesla, Inc. saidDespite several price increases, supply chain and input cost challenges continue.With regard to the balance between cost and price, Tesla, Inc. describes it as follows:

Supply chain challenges remain. In addition to the shortage of chips, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 has also affected the supply chain and factory operations. In addition, the prices of some raw materials have risen several times in recent months. Although we continue to focus on reducing manufacturing costsBut inflation still has an impact on the cost structure, prompting us to adjust product prices.

It is worth mentioning that Musk also said earlier this month that Tesla, Inc. is developing a robotic taxi, which is scheduled for mass production in 2024. It takes a lot of money to build a fleet of self-driving taxis, which could be the future use of Tesla, Inc. 's cash flow.

Tesla, Inc. shares jumped more than 6 per cent in after-hours trading after the eye-catching first-quarter report card was released.

The cost of raw materials soars and Musk's dream of "parity" electric cars is shattered.

As mentioned in the previous article on Wall Street, Musk made public his "ambitious plan" for Tesla, Inc. in a blog post in August 2006:

1. Build an expensive small car and enter the auto industry at a high price.

2. Use the money earned by this car to develop a cheaper medium-sized car.

3. Use the money earned by these cars to build an affordable large car.

4. Finally, capture the middle and low end market with low price and volume.

However, Tesla, Inc. frantically raised prices three times in a week in March this year. As for the reason for the price increase, Tesla, Inc. said it was mainly due to the continued shortage of automotive chips. Geopolitical conflicts, the outbreak of COVID-19 and other reasons make the global supply chain tense.

In addition, the price of metal raw materials has risen sharply since 2022. Whether it is raw materials such as cobalt, nickel and lithium carbonate for batteries, or iron, manganese, copper and other raw materials for automobiles, prices have gone up and become an important driving force for the price rise of new energy vehicles.

At present, price is undoubtedly the biggest factor restricting the popularity of electric vehicles. In the face of the sharp rise in the cost of raw materials, the Wall Street Journal said Tesla, Inc. seemed to be moving from the pricing of "affordable electric cars" to becoming "one of the expensive rides".