--- title: "Elon Musk Says New Tesla Factories Are Wasting “Billions of Dollars”" description: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk lamented that global supply chain issues and EV battery woes are causing the company's new Gigafactories to bleed cash — fast." date: "2022-06-24" modified: "2022-06-24" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-tesla-wasting-billions" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "gigafactory" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Says New Tesla Factories Are Wasting “Billions of Dollars” ![Tesla CEO Elon Musk lamented that global supply chain issues and EV battery woes are causing the company's new Gigafactories to bleed cash — fast.]() *\Image: Mason Trinca for The Washington Post via Getty Images\* ## Cash and Burn All is not well at the Gigafactory, apparently. In a just-released [May 30th interview]() with the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley fan club, billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk lamented that global supply chain issues and EV battery woes are causing serious financial fallout at both of the company's newly-built, extremely large manufacturing facilities, located in Berlin and Austin. "Both Berlin and Austin factories are gigantic money furnaces right now," Musk explained to his eager subjects, who he spoke to in Austin, Texas. "It should be like a giant roaring sound which is the sound of money on fire." ## 99 Problems The [future drive-in owner]() explained that the company's money problems stem in part from pandemic-related supply chain bottlenecks, a problem that industries worldwide have had to grapple with. Crucial parts for Tesla's workhorse 2170 battery cells, he said, are currently stuck in Chinese ports, leaving the EV maker with no choice but to wait. Meanwhile, building battery packs for the company's next-generation 4680 power cells is proving to be more difficult than anticipated. No batteries, no vehicles — and now, according to the founder, as they fail to meet lofty production goals, the Gigafactories are bleeding cash. Fast. "This factory is losing insane money right now," the CEO continued, in regard to the Austin facility. "We should be outputting a lot more cars from this factory, versus a very puny amount of cars." The [alleged Dogecoin "grifter"]() also bemoaned the [COVID-19 shutdowns]() that affected [Tesla's Shanghai factory](), as well as a worldwide [semiconductor shortage](). Musk has always celebrated Gigafactory openings with, um, [enthusiasm](), and these latest additions to the Gigafamily [have been no exception](). But if the much-hyped facilities can't make cars, they don't make money, and judging by the company's recent round of layoffs — which Musk publicly attributed to personally just [having a "bad feeling" about the econom]()y — financial trouble checks out. **READ MORE:** [*Musk says Tesla’s factories in Berlin and Texas are ‘gigantic money furnaces’*]() \[CNBC\] **More on Tesla uh-ohs:** [*Tesla Fan Appalled at Wretched Condition of Tesla He Just Bought*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()