What happened
The tech sell-off continued in early trading today, and alternative energy stocks were no exception. Hydrogen fuel technology company Plug Power (PLUG 4.02%) initially dropped more than the overall Nasdaq Composite Index, losing more than 6%. That may have been due to some press on the hydrogen fuel industry. But as the market pared losses, so did Plug Power stock. Shares actually moved into positive territory by 12:07 p.m. ET, up about 0.4%.
So what
Some of the earlier outsize drop could be due to a report from financial news service CNBC today. It highlighted Elon Musk's view that hydrogen fuel cells aren't the right path for electric vehicle development. But there are plenty of other respected players in the industry that don't agree with the widely followed Tesla CEO.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Today's article from CNBC rekindled some comments Musk has made regarding using hydrogen fuel cells to power electric vehicles. Musk has called them "extremely silly," and posted a comment on Twitter more than a year ago saying "fuel cells = fool sells."
But several major automakers don't agree and are pursuing the technology. Last month, Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum told CNBC that battery technology doesn't make sense for long-haul trucking due to the costs associated with the large batteries needed. When commenting on the debate about battery versus hydrogen power, Daum said, "We go for both because both ... make sense."
Plug Power has been expanding its green hydrogen production plans in the U.S. and also has an international strategy in hopes of playing a leading role in a global hydrogen economy. Most recently, Plug announced it has finalized the formation of a previously announced joint venture to support the green hydrogen market in Spain and Portugal.
An investment in a growth story such as Plug Power is going to be volatile. Today's move was likely exacerbated by general market sentiment. Investors who do believe in the technology should continue to follow the business's progress.
