Electric vehicle stocks did not sidestep the market-wide sell-off seen in the week ended Aug. 9, ending lower despite the the broader market coming back up by the end of the week.
Here’s a rundown on what happened in the EV space during the week:
Tesla Launches Cybertruck In Canada: EV leader Tesla, Inc.‘s TSLA Cybertruck is coming to Canada, with Electrek reporting that the Elon Musk-led company has sent invites to reservation holders to convert their reservations into orders. The catch: Only the pricier models of the electric pickup truck are now available for Canadian customers. The AWD Foundation Series, priced at C$137,990 ($100,287) and the Cyberbeast Foundation Series, priced at C$165,990, are now available in Canada.
The week also saw YouTuber Adin Ross presenting Donald Trump a Cybertruck wrapped with an image of him standing with his fist raised after the shooting incident at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally in July.
Tesla reported strong domestic sales in China. The company sold 46,227 vehicles there in July, up 47.11% year-over-year, CnEVPost reported, citing China Passenger Car Association Data. On a month-over-month basis, sales fell about 22%.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) came down hard on Tesla’s board led by Chair Robyn Denholm for allegedly not performing its fiduciary duty of protecting Tesla shareholders’ interest. In a letter she released this week, Warren criticized the board for neglecting to address Musk's apparent conflicts of interest. “It therefore appears that Mr. Musk has betrayed his duty to Tesla’s shareholders, either by knowingly prioritizing one of his private companies over Tesla or by exaggerating the extent of Tesla’s AI projects to boost investor confidence — or both,” she said.
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Rivian, Nikola Q2 Exceed Expectations: Irvine, California-based Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN reported second-quarter results that came in ahead of estimates amid its focus on cost cuts, efficiency gains and in-house software and technologies. The company maintained its full-year production guidance of 57,000 units. The loss-making company also reaffirmed its goal of turning to a modest gross profit at the year end.
Hydrogen fuel cell and electric truck maker Nikola Corp. NKLA also reported a smaller-than-expected loss and above-consensus revenue amid robust demand for its hydrogen trucks.
Lucid’s Biggest Shareholder Deepens Investment: Luxury EV maker Lucid Group, Inc. LCID bucked the industry-wide stock downtrend this week after it reported above-consensus second-quarter revenue. More importantly, the company announced an incremental $1.5 billion cash injection from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, its biggest shareholder.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard, who upgraded the stock from Underweight to Neutral, said PIF’s cash infusion cements its commitment to Lucid and also extends cash runway until the fourth quarter of 2025. Some analysts, however, expressed disappointment over the company not lifting its 2024 production guidance.
Huawei Dips Toe Into EV Market: Chinese tech company Huawei marked an entry into the highly-competitive EV market with the launch of Stelato, its first EV, co-developed with BAIC Motor Corporation Limited BCCMY, CnEVPost reported. Stelato S9, an all-electric sedan, was launched in the Chinese market market, and it comes in two variants, namely Max and Ultra , with a starting price of 399,800 yuan ($55,770). It was developed through Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance business.
Canoo In Legal Crosshairs: Lifestyle EV maker Canoo, Inc. GOEV was sued by a communications agency for breach of contract, according to Oklahoma’s KFOR. In the lawsuit, Saxum, which provides media and strategic communication services, alleged that Canoo failed to pay the monthly sum of $5,000 it agreed to in exchange for the service based on a contract negotiated in Aug. 2023. Saxum, which has since then discontinued the partnership, sued Canoo for $10,600 in damages.
The KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF KARS ended Friday’s session down 0.55% at $18.16 according to Benzinga Pro data. For the week, the ETF fell 2.58%.
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Here’s how the EV stocks fared this week:
| Weekly Change (+/-) | |
| Tesla | -3.69% |
| Nio, Inc. NIO | -6.67% |
| XPeng, Inc. XPEV | -9.13% |
| Li Auto, Inc. LI | +3.59% |
| Workhorse Group, Inc. WKHS | -10.85% |
| Hyzon Motors, Inc. HYZN | -12.37% |
| Canoo, Inc. GOEV | -1.11% |
| Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN | -5.23% |
| Lucid | +2.24% |
| Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. FFIE | -26.98% |
| Nikola Corp. NKLA | +6.57% |
| VinFast Auto Ltd. VFS | -4.60% |
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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