How Elon Musk’s Software program Focus Helped Tesla Navigate Chip Scarcity

Tesla has been capable of hold manufacturing traces operating partially by leaning on in-house software program engineering experience that has made it more proficient than many rival auto makers at adjusting to a world shortfall of semiconductors, business executives and consultants mentioned. Chips are utilized in every thing from controlling an electrical motor to charging a telephone.

Confronted with shortages earlier this yr, for instance, Tesla was capable of rapidly rewrite the software program essential to combine various chips into its autos, the corporate’s chief govt officer, Mr. Musk, has mentioned.

Semiconductor executives and consultants mentioned Tesla, as a nonetheless comparatively younger automotive firm, had the benefit of designing its autos from the ground-up, quite than including components in a piecemeal vogue over a long time as many legacy auto makers have performed. That allowed Tesla to consolidate methods, a few of them mentioned.

In Tesla’s Mannequin 3 sedan, a single group of semiconductors allows options reminiscent of speaker management and voice and gesture recognition that in lots of different autos could be managed individually utilizing extra chips, in response to a Bain & Co. examine primarily based on a 2019 Mannequin 3.

Ganesh Moorthy, chief govt officer of semiconductor provider Microchip Know-how Inc., mentioned electric-vehicle-focused producers profit from being extra rooted in expertise than conventional automotive makers.

“They’re extra plugged in, in lots of instances, and I feel consequently even have been capable of be extra versatile in what they’ve constructed,” he mentioned.

Tesla didn’t reply to a request for remark about its chip-sourcing technique.

Conventional auto makers typically have let components suppliers deal with sourcing chips. Mr. Musk’s desire for making automobile elements in-house meant that Tesla had larger supply-chain visibility in some areas, having solid shut relationships with semiconductor firms earlier than the disaster hit, some semiconductor executives and analysts mentioned. Tesla, for instance, designed the pc that permits its superior driver-assistance expertise in newer autos.

“Something the place they determined to make one thing by themselves, properly then they needed to have a direct relationship with the semiconductor provider,” mentioned Nakul Duggal, who leads the automotive enterprise of

Qualcomm Inc.,

which designs chips and provides Tesla.

The chip scarcity traces again to late 2020, when demand for autos rebounded sooner than anticipated from pandemic lows, catching auto makers abruptly.

With out sufficient semiconductors, automotive firms are on observe to fabricate roughly 77 million autos globally this yr, down round 9% from expectations in January, in response to consulting agency AlixPartners LLP.

Tesla Chief Monetary Officer

Zachary Kirkhorn

mentioned in October that Tesla’s experience within the chip business and constant messaging to suppliers had helped the corporate handle supply-chain challenges.

“We by no means diminished our manufacturing forecast with our suppliers as we’re including capability as rapidly as attainable,” he instructed analysts.

Tesla hasn’t been proof against supply-chain issues. The corporate has run factories under capability and, in February, briefly shut down its Fremont, Calif., plant due to components shortages. It additionally labored round shortfalls by constructing vehicles with lacking components that wanted to be added again later, Mr. Musk has instructed workers, in response to an individual aware of the matter.

Mr. Musk has cited the chip scarcity in delaying the rollout of recent fashions. Tesla’s long-awaited electrical pickup truck and semitrailer truck, each of which had been slated to enter manufacturing this yr, are actually resulting from enter manufacturing in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Conventional automotive makers are actually turning into extra chip targeted.

Ford Motor Co.

and

Normal Motors Co.

final month introduced pacts with semiconductor firms to develop pc chips.

Analysis agency

Gartner Inc.

forecasts that by 2025, half of the highest 10 auto makers by market capitalization will probably be designing no less than a few of their very own chips.

In the meantime, the world’s embrace of electrical autos—and Tesla’s rising valuation—have made Mr. Musk’s firm a extra enticing buyer to some components suppliers, executives and attorneys mentioned.

Dan Sharkey, a Detroit-area lawyer who represents automotive suppliers, mentioned a few of his purchasers are keen to do issues for Tesla that they aren’t for different automotive makers. “They suppose they’re catching a rising star,” Mr. Sharkey mentioned, including that Tesla’s comparatively small output can generally work within the firm’s favor. “It’s type of simple to say, okay, we’ll simply deal with these little guys.”

Tesla is on tempo to simply clear its goal of accelerating automobile deliveries by 50% over final yr’s whole of almost half 1,000,000. It put greater than 627,000 autos in buyer arms by means of the primary 9 months of the yr. The corporate’s comparatively small dimension—and elevated demand for electrical autos—has made it simpler to maintain speedy progress. It additionally gave precedence to getting autos to prospects, even when they’re lacking just a few components.

Mo Siddiqui, who lives in Hamburg, Germany, mentioned he acquired a textual content message from Tesla earlier this month advising him that, resulting from supply-chain issues, the roughly $70,000 Mannequin Y compact sport-utility automobile he had bought is likely to be delivered with out some USB ports or wi-fi telephone charging functionality.

Mr. Siddiqui was capable of schedule the automobile to be retrofitted inside two weeks of choosing it up. “I can reside with that,” he mentioned.

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—Yang Jie contributed to this text.

Write to Rebecca Elliott at rebecca.elliott@wsj.com