Electric vehicle stocks closed the week ending Oct. 18 uniformly lower amid the broader market retreat. Market leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA continued its move downward amid CEO Elon Musk’s travails with his newly-acquired Twitter social media platform.
Now, here are the key events that happened in the EV space during the week:
Tesla Succession Plan Spooks Investors: The lawsuit over Musk’s 2018 compensation plan opened up discussions about the succession plan at Tesla, after board member James Murdoch, while testifying in the trial, said Tesla has identified a potential successor to Musk. Tesla bull Gene Munster drew up a list of seven likely candidates who could fill Musk’s big shoes.
Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini invited Musk to the country to build a manufacturing plant in Italy. The minister called Musk an “innovation genius.” While referring to the hiccups Tesla is facing in Germany, he said Italy awaits Musk with doors wide open, as on any given day a locally-made car is preferred over German models.
One more recall was added to Tesla’s tally this week, as the EV maker recalled about 30,000 Model X cars in the U.S. over airbag issues. The company said it would address the matter with an over-the-air update and that it was not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths due to the issue.
Only recently, the company recalled over 40,000 Model S and Model X vehicles, citing the risk of experiencing a loss of power steering assist while driving on rough roads or after hitting a pothole.
In another important development, Tesla began sending out invites for the Semi delivery event scheduled to be held at Giga Nevada on Dec. 1. The invitees were selected based on a random draw from a list of retail shareholders of Tesla.
— Tesla (@Tesla) November 16, 2022
A Reuters report suggested that production at Tesla’s Giga Shanghai has recovered at a record pace, cutting wait times for its Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs in China.
See also: Tesla Down 50% This Year — Analyst Suggests 3-Point Plan For Elon Musk To Lift Sagging Stock
Fisker Gets Started: Fisker, Inc. FSR kept up with its Oct. 17 start-of-production deadline for its Ocean SUV. The vehicle is being built at its manufacturing partner Magna International, Inc.’s MGA Austrian plant. Fisker noted that two trims have been sold out in the U.S. for 2023.
Faraday Future Gets Another Lifeline: Struggling EV startup Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. FFIE said in a filing that it has struck a deal to raise up to $350 million in financing from an affiliate of Yorkshire Advisors Global. An initial commitment of $200 million will give the company financial flexibility to start production of its much-delayed FF 91 EV.
Lucid Teases New SUV: Lucid Group, Inc. LCID announced details of its new Gravity SUV with flexible seating configurations for five, six or seven adults in two- and three-row seating configurations. The company said it will feature next-gen Glass Cockpit high-resolution displays, powered the by Lucid UX software interface. More details about the Gravity lineup will be released in early 2023, the company said, adding that it will begin accepting reservations in early 2023, with commercial availability planned for 2024.
Ford Joins Hands With Rockwell: Ford Motor Company F said it is partnering with Rockwell Automation, Inc. ROK for its next three EV assembly sites. The collaboration will focus on assembly tooling designs and architectures that will increase speed to market.
GM Pushes Forward EV Profitability Goal: At its investor day, General Motors Corp. GM said it expects to build 400,000 EVs in North America from 2022 through the first half of 2024, and then increase annual production capacity to one million units in 2025. The company also said it expects to earn low-to-mid-single-digit EBIT-adjusted margins, before the positive impact of clean-energy credits, on its EV portfolio in 2025.
Read Next: Best Electric Vehicle Stocks
EV Stock Performances for The Week:
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