By Brian Swint
Tesla stock was rising in early trading Thursday after it emerged that it's working with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co to make faster-charging batteries.
The electric-vehicle maker's shares were up 0.2% in the premarket to $180.20, while futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were little changed.
Tesla's partnership with China battery maker CATL is welcome as it copes with intensifying competition among EV makers, which has led to price cuts and lower profitability. The stock has gained this week, also in part on plans to allow free self-driving software trials to customers, even though it has fallen almost 30% since the start of the year. First-quarter delivery numbers for Tesla are due at the beginning of April.
CATL was confirmed to be working with Tesla by Chairman Robin Zeng in an interview with Bloomberg. It's also building machinery for the Tesla factory in Nevada.
In other EV news Thursday, rival Fisker cut prices on some of its 2023 models to stoke demand as it tries to raise cash. Fisker shares were up almost 5% in the premarket.
Separately, Chinese EV maker BYD, which overtook Tesla in deliveries in the fourth quarter, slowed down plans to build a production factory in Vietnam, Reuters reported. BYD stock fell 0.6% in Hong Kong trading.
Shares of other Tesla peers were also moving. NIO shares were up 1.9% in early trading, and Ford Motor stock was flat. General Motors stock added 0.3% while Lucid stock was unchanged in premarket trading. Rivian shares fell 0.5%.
Tesla stock is well off its 52-week high of $299.29, set last summer. Trading volume of 81.8 million at Wednesday's close remained 21.09 million below its 65-day average volume of 102.89 million.
Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 28, 2024 05:34 ET (09:34 GMT)
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