By Kevin Armstrong
Tesla’s Giga Berlin factory started producing vehicles in the new Quicksilver and Midnight Cherry Red in October 2022. Since then, Tesla enthusiasts, observers and future buyers have been waiting for the new colors to start spreading to other regions. While there have been several changes to the Tesla ordering page, mainly the price, the five colors have remained the same. But that may be due for a refresh.
Tesla’s New “Pretty” Colors
Tesla’s Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen appeared on the Ride the Lightning podcast. Host Ryan McCaffrey asked about bringing the new colors to North America, pointing out that the same five colors have been available for several years. He asked if we were due for new paint colors in this country, and von Holzhausen replied, “yeah, I hope so.” After the host reminded von Holzhausen (at the 43rd minute of the podcast) that he was in charge of that, the designer said, “yeah, wait and see.”
While von Holzhausen always has to be guarded with his responses, he may have given enough information earlier in the interview to guarantee that new colors are coming to North America. “Both those colors are so pretty in person,” gushed the 54-year-old, “tough to capture how really amazing those colors are until you see them in person.”
Gleaming with pride, the designer reminisced about creating those colors, “we developed all the colors here (Fremont) with the team. We evolve them and do all the testing and kind of developments. As with anything we design, we’re always trying to make the best we can at the moment. If we can improve it, then we will.”
Von Holzhausen Talking Colors
Franz von Holzhausen talks about new paint colors at the 43rd minute mark below.
Time and Resources to Develop
A lot of time and resources went into producing Quicksilver and Midnight Cherry Red just to be used in the Giga Berlin location. We know Elon Musk does not waste time on production, and given the positive feedback, it would make sense to offer more colors.
Given that more Teslas are on the road than ever before and the company continues to pump out thousands of cars daily, it may be time for some more options. Pearl White Multi-Coat, Solid Black, Midnight Silver Metallic, Deep Blue Metallic and Red Multi-Coat have done the company well. But, follow a few Tesla forums, and you will see that many people are wrapping their Tesla to give a unique look and stand out from the pack.
Tesla’s production has thrived because of streamlined choices. So, it’s unlikely that Tesla would keep the existing gray and red colors and would likely replace them with these new options.
By Kevin Armstrong
Tesla’s fourth quarter and 2022 earnings call with investors was mostly good news unless you were planning to drive a Cybertruck soon. While company executives eagerly jumped on every question asked by investors, there was a noticeable pause when a point-blank question was asked about Cybertruck’s mid-year production date.
Elon Musk responded “um, we do expect production to start, I don’t know, maybe sometime this summer. But I always like to try to downplay the start of production because the start of production is always very slow. It increases exponentially, but it’s always very slow at first. So I wouldn’t put too much thought in start of production.”
Volume Production Next Year
If the millions of people with Cybertruck reservations were in attendance, you might have felt the air leave the room. The previous belief was mass production would start by the end of 2023. There may be some stainless-steel beauties on the road by then, but only a few. “It’s kind of when does volume production actually happen, and that’s next year,” said Musk.
Perhaps sensing some disappointed buyers, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering added, “(I’d) like just to emphasize on that, we’ve started installation of all the production equipment here in Giga Texas, castings, general assembly, body shops. We built all our beta vehicles, some more coming still in the next month, but as you said, the ramp will really come 2024.”
The Cybertruck Will be Elon’s Next Car
Cybertruck was originally announced in 2019 at the memorable event that included the unbreakable armor glass smashing. Musk was wearing the smashed glass Cybertruck t-shirt while taking questions from investors. While the wait continues, he is adamant that it will be worth it, “So it’s an incredible product. I can’t wait to drive it personally. It will be the car that I drive every day… it’s just one of those products that only comes along once in a while, and it’s really special.”
The original release deadline was set for 2021. However, the production date has been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, like a global pandemic. Nevertheless, it is a positive sign that beta vehicles have been produced. Images of what appears to be a Cybertruck were leaked a few months ago.
Recently, chief designer Franz von Holzhausen did confirm that the Cybertruck was ready for production, but it’s a work in progress. Every Tesla beta product gets thoroughly examined and meticulously reviewed before the next step. But at least it’s a step in the right direction.
By Gabe Rodriguez Morrison
Tesla published their Q4 2022 and full-year financial results, setting new records in production and deliveries while beating analyst expectations. Tesla’s annual profit rose to $12.6 billion in 2022, from $5.5 billion in 2021. Annual revenue rose to $81.5 billion, from $53.8 billion the year prior. Tesla reported fourth-quarter revenue of $24.32 billion beating analysts’ $24.07 billion estimate. The automaker also reported earnings per share of $1.19 beating analysts’ $1.12 estimate.
Tesla’s stock rose more than 5% in after-hours trading following the earnings release and surged more than 10% the next day.
Tesla’s Q4 2022 revenue set a new record for the company, up 59% from a year earlier. In addition to automotive revenue of $21.3 billion, Tesla recognized $324 million of deferred revenue from the company’s driver assistance systems.
FSD Beta Numbers
Tesla reported that 90 million miles have now been driven with FSD Beta, up from 58 million miles in the previous quarter. The company also confirmed that they have about 400,000 FSD Beta users in North America, a sizeable increase since the last report. With such a steep increase in miles driven and FSD Beta becoming widely available in North America, Tesla is making significant progress with its autonomous driving software.
In late 2022 and into this year, Tesla began cutting prices on its cars globally. Elon spoke about how recent price cuts have fueled a surge in demand for Tesla: “Thus far in January we’ve seen the strongest orders year-to-date than ever in our history. We’re currently seeing orders of almost twice the rate of production.” He added: “These price changes really make a difference for the average consumer.” Tesla acknowledges that average sales prices have to decrease over time because affordability is part of Tesla’s mission to grow into a company that sells multiple millions of cars annually.
Price cuts will impact profitability, but margins should remain healthy, Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn affirmed. Tesla has wider operating margins than the industry average, which allows them to make such price cuts.
Elon issued an uncertain forecast for 2023, saying Tesla planned on 1.8 million vehicles for the year without specifying whether that was a target for production or deliveries. If the company were to deliver 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, that would result in 37% annual growth.
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