Tesla’s stock rose early Monday as it tried to snap a long streak of weekly losses.
Shares of the electric-vehicle maker were up 10% in Monday trading.
Tesla is about to roll out in China its highest-level driver assistance product, called Full Self Driving, of FSD, according to Reuters, citing local social-media posts from Tesla employees.
Better driver-assistance products can help sell more Tesla vehicles. Tesla, however, charges several thousand dollars for its driver-assistance features while BYD essentially gives them away for free. Chinese car buyers’ willingness to pay for FSD, and its impact on Tesla’s Chinese market share, will be closely watched by investors in coming months.
FSD sales in China were expected. Tesla is also expected to roll out FSD in Europe this year. FSD can help, but some of the early gains for Tesla stock are likely a rebound after some steep drops.
Tesla shares rose 5.3% on Friday, leaving them down 0.5% for the week. It was the ninth consecutive decline for shares, extending the worst weekly streak for Tesla stock on record.
The post-election run set up some of the recent declines. Tesla stock rose to roughly $490 from $250 to mid-December from the Nov. 5 election. Investors believed the second Trump administration would benefit the automaker, mainly by regulations facilitating the introduction of self-driving cars. Tesla plans to launch a robotaxi service in 2025.
Since the January inauguration, around the time Tesla’s stock slide started, investors have begun to focus more on CEO Elon Musk’s political activities and how they might be turning off Tesla’s traditional buyers—politically left-leaning people looking to go green.
The jump on Friday came after Musk hosted a meeting for Tesla employees. Paying attention to the car company over his Washington, D.C. responsibilities was enough for investors. “Investors roundly cheered Elon’s vision, confidence, spirit, and calmness in praising employees for other efforts during the current media story,” said Future Fund Active exchange-traded fund co-founderGary Black.
The end result of all the volatility is a stock that’s roughly flat since the election.
More sales data will move shares in the coming days and weeks. European monthly sales from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association are due out later this week. Tesla’s European sales dropped 45% year over year in January. Some of the drop can be attributed to the model changeover. Tesla is starting a new version of its Model Y.
Then, Tesla will report its first-quarter sales results on April 2. Wall Street is looking for first-quarter sales of 414,000 vehicles, according to FactSet. The most current analyst estimates, however, are closer to 360,000. Tesla delivered 387,000 cars in the first quarter of 2024.
