Tesla, Inc. TSLA led a rally in electric vehicle stocks in the week ended Jan. 27 as its earnings beat and better-than-feared forward commentary encouraged traders to revisit beaten-down stocks belonging to the industry. Here are the key events that happened in the EV space during the week:
Tesla’s Q4, Outlook Adds Strength To Stock Rally: Tesla's stock plunged 65% in 2022. After the Elon Musk-led company announced a string of steep price cuts across geographies, the stock began to turn the corner. The rally gained steam after the company beat both earnings and revenue expectations and Musk came up with a bullish commentary.
The billionaire hinted at an internal delivery target running at a 2-million-unit pace, although the company’s formal guidance pitched sales at 1.8 million units. The company also confirmed the start-of-production timeline for the much-awaited Cybertruck. Automotive margin, though forecast to contract, was better than what the Street was modeling.
The sum total of all the positive tidings led to a stellar two-day run in the stock post the release of its results Wednesday, taking the year-to-date gains to 44%.
Lucid Could End Up In Saudi Financier’s Pocket: After reducing production guidance and reporting a drop in reservations last year, doubts about Lucid Group, Inc.’s LCID ability to effectively execute heightened. These fears were discounted by the stock, which ended 2022 down 82%. Even as bigger rival Tesla began to chart a recovery in 2023, Lucid's stock continued to flatline.
Rumors of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which holds an approximately 65% stake in Lucid, buying the remaining stake it does not own and taking the EV maker private sent its stock up by nearly 100% intraday on Friday. After paring some of the gains, the stock ended the day 43% higher at $12.87.
See also: Best Electric Vehicle Stocks
Toyota’s Leadership Transition Raises Hope For Faster EV Transition: Toyota Motor Corporation TM CEO Akio Toyoda, who is the grandson of the founder, announced plans to step down from the position later this year. The company’s Lexus luxury subsidiary’s top brass, Koji Sato, will take over as CEO.
The change of guard increases hopes that the world’s largest automaker by volume could expedite transitioning to EVs, given Toyoda had adopted a measured approach and was often criticized for going slow on that front.
Rivian Loses Another Executive: Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN, which faced a few key executive departures recently, has lost another C-suite executive. Jim Chen, the company’s chief lobbyist who was pushing for bypassing dealerships and selling directly to customers, will leave by February by mutual agreement.
Canoo Going Places: Cash-strapped maker of the lifestyle EVs Canoo, Inc. GOEV announced it has signed an agreement with GCC Olayan, for sale, service and distribution of Canoo fleet solutions in Saudi Arabia.
Lightyear Gives On Premium EV: Solar-powered EV maker Lightyear said it is suspending the manufacture of its flagship Lightyear 0, a premium EV priced at 250,000 euros ($271,813), Electrek reported. Instead, the company is reportedly planning to focus on an affordable model priced at 40,000 euros.
EV Stock Performances for The Week:
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