Technology

Elon Musk complains that chip suppliers are inhibiting Tesla production

Carmaker’s boss points finger at Renesas and Bosch

‘Most problematic by far are Renesas and Bosch,’ Elon Musk tweeted in relation to chips used in the manufacture of Teslas. Photograph: AFP via Getty

Thu Aug 12 2021 - 16:03

Tesla's Elon Musk complained that two of the world's biggest auto-chip suppliers are inhibiting the electric-car maker's production.

"We are operating under extreme supply-chain limitations regarding certain 'standard' automotive chips," Tesla's chief executive wrote in a tweet on Thursday, responding to a tweet from Ark Investment Management chief executive Cathie Wood. "Most problematic by far are Renesas and Bosch. "

Mr Musk isn't the first in the car industry to point fingers at Japan's Renesas Electronics and Germany's Robert Bosch for holding up vehicle output. Ford called out the fire at a Renesas factory north of Tokyo as a major risk to its production schedules earlier this year. Volkswagen held talks with major suppliers including Bosch about possibly claiming damages related to the semiconductor shortage, Reuters reported in January.

Renesas said in early June that its chip plant in Naka would resume full production by mid-month. Representatives for the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Bosch, which opened a €1 billion factory near the city of Dresden in June, can't escape the general shortage of semiconductor components caused by various factors, spokeswoman Annett Fischer said.

Tense situation

“In this tense situation, we are doing everything in our power to support our customers and are working flat out to keep up deliveries as much as possible,” Ms Fischer wrote in an email. “Together with our customers and our suppliers, we have been working in task forces around the clock for weeks.”

Mr Musk was responding to a tweet from Ark Investment's Ms Wood, who was parsing Tesla's significant drop in local deliveries of China-built vehicles in July. Ms Wood, a long-time Tesla bull, wrote that China would like "local champions" to dominate EV sales in the country, but is pleased Tesla is exporting to Europe.

“Tesla makes cars for export in first half of quarter and for local market in second half,” Mr Musk replied. – Bloomberg

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