Elon Musk recently revealed that Tesla factories in Texas and Berlin are “losing billions of dollars” due to a shortage of batteries and tools being produced by China shipping port issues.

Musk was giving an interview at the end of May to a Tesla club, Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, when he said, “Both Berlin and Austin factories are gigantic money furnaces right now. Okay? It’s really like a giant roaring sound, which is the sound of money on fire.” 

Musk said Tesla was having trouble boosting production of its new 4680 battery, and at the same time, the tools needed to make its regular 2170 battery were “stuck in a port in China.” Combined, that was limiting the production at the factories to a tiny number of cars.

Musk also said the car company was laboring under the strain of the now-ended Covid shutdowns in Shanghai, that were instituted due to China’s zero-Covid policy. Saying the shutdowns “were very, very difficult,” he went on to note it had affected production not just in Shanghai, but also at the California plant due to a lack of vehicle parts made in China.

Musk said, “The past two years have been an absolute nightmare of supply chain interruptions, one thing after another, and we’re not out of it yet.”

He said the overwhelming concern he has had is, “How do we keep the factories operating so we can pay people and not go bankrupt?”

Musk also revealed he expected the Cybertruck electric pickup would begin in mid-2023.