Elon Musk says Tesla will not produce a new vehicle model in 2022, renews prediction on “Full Self-Driving”

SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla will not produce a new vehicle model this year, CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday, as it focuses on its existing output and deals with supply chain constraints. 

Tesla will instead turn its attention to improving its production and what it sees as a groundbreaking bet in the form of software dubbed “Full Self-Driving,” that aims to perform everyday driving tasks with an attentive driver behind the wheel.

“The fundamental focus for Tesla this year is scaling output,” Musk said. “Last year and this year, if we were to produce new vehicles, our total output would decrease.”

Investors had been looking forward to Musk’s update because Tesla has fallen behind its timelines for delivering vehicles such as its Cybertruck pickup, the truck dubbed the Tesla Semi and its updated version of its sports car, the Roadster. Tesla has also been planning to build a humanoid robot called the Optimus that would assist in tasks around the factory or perform other types of “repetitive” work.

“We will not be introducing new vehicle models this year,” Musk said, speaking at the company’s earnings call. “It would not make any sense. We will still be parts constrained. We will, however, do a lot of engineering, tooling, what not to create those vehicles: Cybertruck, Semi, Roadster, Optimus.”

Musk also poured cold water on speculation about its intentions to build a lower-cost vehicle at a $25,000 price-point.