Tesla has reported an annual profit of $5.5bn but warned that supply chain problems that have dogged production over recent months would extend into this year.

The 2021 profit haul for the electric car maker, led by Elon Musk, was nearly eight times higher than a year earlier as it delivered a record 940,000 vehicles in what was described as a “breakthrough year”.

2020 had been the first year in the black for Tesla after a string of losses but in its latest results it said “there should no longer be doubt about the viability and profitability of electric vehicles”.

Revenues were up by 71% to $53.8bn and the company’s quarterly performance for the final three months of the year beat Wall Street expectations.

Tesla said it was aiming to increase production “as quickly as we can” by ramping up production at new factories in Texas and Germany and maximising output from existing sites in California and China.

It is planning for average annual growth in deliveries of 50%.

The company makes far fewer units than traditional car making rivals but boasted that its profitability was now leaving them in the shade “demonstrating that EVs [electric vehicles] can be more profitable than combustion engine vehicles”.

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But like its rivals it said that in the last quarter it saw a continuation of “supply chain, transportation, labour and other manufacturing challenges” limiting its ability to run at full capacity.

Supply chain problems have been holding it back for several quarters and were likely to continue into 2022, Tesla said.

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