Elon Musk, boss of electric vehicle maker Tesla, said Friday that the semiconductor shortage is expected to end soon, thanks to new chip factories emerging from the ground.

"Lots of chip making factories" under construction

This crisis should be resolved "in the short term", he assured during a remote intervention during the Italian Tech Week in Turin, which brings together start-ups, investment funds and entrepreneurs from around the world since Thursday. of technology.

"There are a lot of chip factories that are being built," argued the multi-billionaire, adding that this increase in capacity should allow "to deliver chips by next year."

In the automotive sector, demand for components is very strong to fuel the boom in electric vehicles, in a context of resumption of activity after the lifting of health restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Competition between chip-hungry industries

However, manufacturers find themselves in competition with other chip-hungry industries - computers, smartphones, connected objects - which capture a large part of the supply.

Tesla has so far been able to get around much of the shortage by using new chip designs and rewriting software accordingly.

The group delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter, nearly doubling sales and increasing net income, which for the first time exceeded $ 1 billion.

Advocacy for nuclear power

In a context of soaring global energy prices, Elon Musk pleaded in favor of an increased use of nuclear power plants, ensuring that they "do not present any danger".

"In the long run, we will get most of the energy from solar, wind and hydro, but people should also think positively about nuclear power."

Elon Musk said he was "surprised" by the decision of several countries to turn the page on nuclear energy when the latter is "completely safe".

According to the boss of Tesla, "it has been proven that there are much more health risks with coal-fired plants than with nuclear plants."

"We should have more nuclear power or at least not shut down the nuclear power plants that we already have, because I think they are safe," he stressed.

This vision is shared by John Elkann, chairman of the board of directors of the automotive group Stellantis, present at Tech Week to dialogue with Elon Musk.

In order to "produce energy without having to emit CO2", "nuclear power is a solution that exists, a safe solution and a solution that we should absolutely develop strongly", he said.

"Uranium prices are going up because countries like China and India are going nuclear and that's a very strong indication of what we should be doing."

At the same time, the automotive industry is strongly committed to the development of renewable energies, added John Elkann.

“I think that ultimately the sun, which is the greatest source of energy, will be the long-term solution,” he concluded.

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