OAKLAND: Elon Musk can’t seem to stay away from his company’s quarterly earnings calls.

       The Tesla Inc chief executive officer, who didn’t participate in the electric-vehicle maker’s last call and earlier signalled that he’d no longer be a regular, says he’ll be back next time to provide an “updated product roadmap.”

       Musk’s no-show after Tesla’s earnings in October was his first absence from the quarterly communications ritual in more than a decade.

       But the Tesla CEO said in a tweet Monday that he plans to provide details on upcoming products and talk about this year’s “supply chain nightmare” on the January earnings call.

       The company currently makes the Model S, X, 3 and Y at its auto plant in Fremont, California, and the Model 3 and Y at its plant in Shanghai.

       Two new factories – one outside of Berlin and another in Austin, Texas – are nearing completion.

       Tesla has revealed plans for several other products, including a Semi truck, the next generation Roadster and an electric pick up called the Cybertruck, but none are in volume production.

       Like many automakers, Tesla has been squeezed by a global shortage of semiconductors and other key components.

       In July, Musk shocked investors by telling them he no longer planned to participate routinely in Tesla’s earnings calls.

       “I think that going forward I will most likely not be on earnings calls unless there’s something really important that I need to say,” Musk said.

       His comments on such calls often overshadows the company’s earning results and occasionally his antics become the focal point.

       One example: He went on a profane rant on a call in April 2020, and accused authorities of “fascist” shutdown orders.

       And on a call in 2018, Musk said analysts were asking “boring, bonehead” questions.

       “We’re going to YouTube. These questions are so dry. They’re killing me,” he said. — Bloomberg