Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday said the electric vehicle company’s operating expense is “embarrassingly high.”
What Happened
The billionaire entrepreneur was reacting to a Twitter post that compared Tesla’s first-quarter operating expenses with that of Rivian Automotive Inc.’s from its fourth quarter. Q1 2022 Operating Expenses @elonmusk
Tesla — $1.9 billion
Rivian — $2.1 billion
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) April 20, 2022 Tesla reported $1.86 billion operating expense in the first quarter, a year-on-year jump of 15 percent. Rivian’s fourth-quarter operating expense was $2.07 billion.
In 2021, Tesla reported operating expenses of $7 billion, while Rivian’s came at $3.75 billion. The Musk-led company’s adjusted gross margin was 27 percent in 2021.