Tesla Stock Lifts Off, Lucid's 'Ready To Delivery' Offer, Rivian Worker Safety Complaint And More: Week's Biggest EV Stories

Electric vehicle stocks had another down week, despite the broader market reversing course amid hopes of the Federal Reserve relenting from an extremely hawkish stance. Market leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA bucked the downtrend, thanks to some bullish analysts’ comments.

Now, here are the key events that happened in the EV space during the week:

Tesla’s China Woes Abound But Stock Makes Comeback: Even as bulls have been lamenting about CEO Elon Musk’s Twitter missteps and slowing China demand, a few analysts rallied around the EV maker, which saw its stock plunge to a two-year low. While Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas flaunted the grand sale of the stock by touting its 100% appreciation potential, longtime bear and Citi’s Itai Michaeli was tempted by the value proposition of the stock following its recent underperformance. He shifted his stance from a Sell to Neutral.

In another important development, a Chinese local media outlet reported that Tesla is mulling a third price cut in China as demand has not picked up in reaction to its previous two cuts. In late October, Tesla reduced the price of its Made-in-China EVs by about 5% and followed it up with a deduction on insurance payments in early November.

Tesla China was impacted by a recall of over 80,000 units of predominantly imported cars due to a malfunctioning battery management system and seat belt issues. A majority of the recalls could be addressed through over-the-air updates, the company said in a filing with the Chinese regulator.

Another report suggested that Tesla could be eyeing another factory location in Asia, with South Korea rumored to be the likely spot.

Tesla’s full-self driving package beta is now available to all vehicle owners in North America who have paid for it, Musk confirmed this week.

See also: Is Tesla Signaling A Comeback For Growth Stocks

Hyundai Accelerates EV Investment In US: South Korean legacy automaker Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF will invest about $926 million in an EV Power Electric facility system in Bryan County, Georgia. Construction would begin in January 2023 and production will start sometime in 2024, the company said. This follows the company breaking ground on a $5.5 billion EV manufacturing factory in Bryan County in October. This plant is expected to come online in 2025 and have a production capacity of about 300,000 EVs per year.

Rivian Employees Flag Safety Concerns: Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN, which is touted as a potent rival to Tesla, came under criticism after several of its employees revealed alleged safety violations at the company’s Illinois plant, Bloomberg reported, citing a complaint filed with federal regulators. Employees have alleged that the company ignored hazards and deprioritized safety resources that left some with a range of injuries such as a crushed hand, a broken foot, a sliced ear and broken ribs.

Canoo Spikes On Insider Buying: Shares of cash-strapped Canoo Inc. GOEV rallied hard on Friday after CEO Anthony Aquilla bought $10 million worth of shares of the company, taking his stake in Canoo to more than 19%.

All About Lucid’s ‘Ready To Deliver’ Section: Lucid Group, Inc. LCID launched a “Ready To Deliver” section on its U.S. website that could come in handy for customers who do not want to place a custom order and wait for the delivery of their Air sedan. The company said it is the “most convenient way to put Lucid Air in your driveway.” The vehicles in the inventory are configured with customers’ favorite options.

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EV Stock Performances for The Week: