New York, January 24, 2022 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") upgraded
the corporate family rating of Tesla, Inc. ("Tesla")
to Ba1 from Ba3, and the probability of default rating to Ba1-PD
from Ba3-PD. The outlook remains positive. The SGL-1
speculative grade liquidity rating was unchanged.
The rating upgrade and positive outlook reflect Moody's expectation
that Tesla will maintain its position as the leading manufacturer of battery
electric vehicles, continue to increase its scale rapidly and improve
its profitability notably.
Upgrades:
..Issuer: Tesla, Inc.
.... Corporate Family Rating, Upgraded
to Ba1 from Ba3
.... Probability of Default Rating,
Upgraded to Ba1-PD from Ba3-PD
Outlook Actions:
..Issuer: Tesla, Inc.
....Outlook, Remains Positive
RATINGS RATIONALE
The Ba1 corporate family rating reflects Moody's view that Tesla
will maintain its position as the leading manufacturer of battery electric
vehicles with a swiftly expanding presence in the US, Europe,
and China. Moody's anticipates that Tesla will deliver nearly
1.4 million vehicles in 2022, up from approximately 936,000
in 2021. Considerable investments in new production facilities
in Berlin and Austin enable the steep increase in vehicle deliveries,
along with an increase in production capacity in its existing plants in
Fremont and Shanghai. To date, Tesla's product offering
remains narrowly reliant on primarily two models, however.
Tesla's growing scale, regional production facilities and
efficient manufacturing processes support Moody's expectation of
an increase in EBITA margin to 16% in 2022, up from 12%
in the last 12 months ended September 2021. While the margin contribution
from the sale of regulatory emission credits will likely decrease,
the sale of the credits added approximately 330 basis points to margin
in the 12 months ended September 2021. Moody's expects that
a more competitive offering of battery electric vehicles by other automakers
could start to exert some pressure on margins in 2023.
Moody's expects Tesla's financial policy to be prudent.
Financial leverage steadily declined as earnings accelerated and Tesla
repaid about $5 billion of debt in the last two years. Moody's
estimates that debt/EBITDA dropped below 1 time at year-end 2021
and will remain at that level in 2022.
Moody's anticipates liquidity to remain very good. Tesla
had a cash balance of $16 billion as of September 30, 2021.
Furthermore, Moody's expects free cash flow to increase considerably
in 2022, from an estimated $3.1 billion for 2021.
Availability under Tesla's $2.3 billion asset-based
revolving credit facility is very limited, however, because
the unpaid principal balance was $1.9 billion as of September
30, 2021.
The positive outlook reflects Moody's expectation that Tesla will
continue to capitalize on robust growth in global demand for battery electric
vehicles as a steep increase in manufacturing capacity comes online in
2022.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
The ratings could be upgraded if Tesla successfully expands its global
footprint, maintains a strong competitive global presence as other
automakers offer an increasing number of battery electric models,
and improves its product breadth. Tesla's ability to sustain
an EBITA margin of at least 7% (measured excluding the contribution
from emission credits), and a consistent, prudent financial
policy are also important considerations for higher ratings. Further,
Tesla will need to maintain very good liquidity, including ample
cash and considerable committed availability under its revolving credit
facility.
The ratings could be downgraded if demand for Tesla models softens amid
an expanding offering of battery electric vehicles by other automakers,
or if Tesla is unable to sustain EBITA margin above 5% (measured
excluding the contribution from emission credits). A material shift
in Tesla's financial policy that signals a greater tolerance for
financial risk could also cause a ratings downgrade, including if
debt/EBITDA is greater than 3 times or if the amount of cash and committed
revolver availability decreases considerably from current levels.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Automobile Manufacturers
published in May 2021 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1275604.
Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
Tesla, Inc., headquartered in Austin, Texas,
is the world's leading manufacturer of battery electric vehicles,
and is also a producer of energy generation and storage systems.
Revenue was $46.8 billion in the last 12 months ended September
30, 2021.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and
sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and
Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's
Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.
For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of
debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures
in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the
same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant
to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing
ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings
issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain
regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the
support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action
for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's
credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement
provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional
rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may
be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each
case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior
to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have
affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings
tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action,
the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated
agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy
for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on
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Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social
and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at http://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1288235.
The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was
issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed
by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt
am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's
office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.
The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was
issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the UK and is endorsed
by Moody's Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square,
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available on www.moodys.com.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Rene Lipsch
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376
Client Service: 1 212 553 1653
Dean Diaz
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376
Client Service: 1 212 553 1653
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