Elon Musk Succession Rumors, Lucid Goes Aggressive With Promotions, Rivian Joins Blue-Chip Tech Index And More: Week's Biggest EV Stories

Electric vehicle stocks went down along with the broader market in the week ended Dec. 10, as recession fears and interest rate uncertainty weighed down on sentiment. Market leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA declined for all but the final session of the week, besieged by worries concerning multiple headwinds.

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

Tesla China Takes Spotlight: Rumors of Tesla China President Tom Zhu replacing CEO Elon Musk to head the EV maker began doing the rounds this week. Analysts quickly discounted the possibility, and there was no confirmation from the company. A Bloomberg report later suggested that Zhu was brought to Tesla’s Giga Texas plant, along with an engineering team, to help oversee the ramp-up.

Tesla China announced a discount of 6,000 yuan or $860 for inventory cars, marking a third straight price adjustment in the country since late October. Analysts see the actions as a function of the economic softness witnessed domestically.

Musk lauded his Tesla team for doing “incredibly well” despite extremely difficult times following the release of China sales numbers, which remained fairly strong. “Could not be more proud of them,” he added.

Even as Tesla denied the earlier reports of Model Y production cuts in China, rumors of such a development swirled around yet again this week. Reuters reported Friday, citing an internal company memo, that Tesla will suspend Model Y assembly at the Giga Shanghai plant between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. The outlet said the suspension is part of the planned 30% Model Y production cut it had speculated earlier.

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Nio Day Schedule Confirmed: Chinese EV startup Nio, Inc. NIO said this week that “Nio Day 2022” will be held in Hefei on Dec. 24. This annual affair is the company's platform to make key announcements regarding products, services offerings and strategies.

Rivian To Be Added To Nasdaq-100 Index: Nasdaq announced late Friday that Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN would be among the companies that would be added to the Nasdaq 100 Index. The inclusion will take effect prior to the start of trading on Dec. 19. The Nasdaq 100 is an index that is composed of the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the namesake exchange. Separately, the company has reportedly set up an R&D center in Serbia.

Lucid Goes All Out To Woo Customers: With the latest earnings reports showing shrinking reservations, Lucid Group, Inc. LCID is reportedly becoming more aggressive with its promotions. A Business Insider report said the company has made changes to its method of handling cancellation requests, with the company instructing employees to try multiple times before accepting a request.
Barron’s reported that Lucid is offering a discount of up to 10% to customers who ordered a Grand Touring after prices were raised.

VinFast Files For U.S. IPO: Vietnamese EV startup VinFast has filed a red herring prospectus with the SEC to offer shares in an initial public offering in the U.S. The company has applied for listing its shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “VFS.”

Ford’s Dealers Lap Up EV Sales Program: Ford Motor Company F CEO Jim Farley reportedly suggested that 64% of Ford’s 3,000 dealers in the U.S. franchised network have given their nod to be part of the company’s electrification drive. Ford plans to provide another opportunity in 2025 for those who haven’t enrolled yet so that they can join the next drive in 2027.

See also: Elon Musk, In A Rare Move, Says This Tesla Rival Is 'Not Long For This World

EV Stock Performances for The Week:

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