EV Week In Review: Tesla’s China Woes, Giga Berlin to Soon Come Online, Earnings Fail to Lift Nio, Lordstown On Track, Fisker’s Debt Financing and More

Market Trading EssentialsAugust 14, 2021

3 minutes read

The EV space was brimming with activity in the week ended Aug. 13, with fund raising and earnings dominating the headlines.

Tesla’s July Deliveries Tumble But Musk Isn’t Bothered: Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)’s China sales fell 69.4% month-over-month in July, according to data released by industry body China Passenger Car Association. About three-fourth of the wholesale sales were exported.

Later, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk explained away the weakness through a tweet, stating the company makes cars for exports in the first half of the quarter and cars meant for local sales are made in the later half of the quarter.

Giga Berlin May Finally Be Coming Online: During a factory visit to Giga Berlin Friday, Musk said the facility will likely start producing cars by October. This should come as a relief as red top and opposition by environmental activists were threatening to inordinately delay opening of the plant. Musk also said a factory tour around the Giga Berlin is planned for Oct. 9.

Giga Berlin will be Tesla’s second overseas manufacturing plant after Giga Shanghai.

Tesla Bull List Widens: Tesla received an upgrade from Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois, with the optimism premised on higher profitability and accelerated growth. The analyst upgraded the shares from Hold to Buy and also increased the price target from $700 to $850.

Nio Investors Not Satiated By Q2 Beat: Chinese EV manufacturer Nio, Inc. (NYSE: NIO) reported mid-week forecast-beating second-quarter results and issued guidance for strong deliveries and revenue growth.

The company also had good tidings on its products front. It promised rolling out three new models, including its already-announced ET7 sedan, in 2022. On the earnings call, CEO William Li confirmed the launch of a mass market model under a different brand in 2022.

All these announcement didn’t satiate investors’ hyper expectations. After a pre-earnings pop early in the week, the stock headed southward.

Fisker Beefs Up Finances Through Debt Offering: Close on the heels of releasing its second-quarter results, Fisker, Inc. (NYSE: FSR) announced a $625 million convertible note offering that pressured the stock. It retraced much of Tuesday’s upward move achieved on the back of a bullish rating accorded by Morgan Stanley.

Incidentally, the company said in its Aug. 5 earnings release, it is on track to begin production of its Ocean EV SUV on Nov. 17. At the end of June, the company had a cash balance of $962 million. Any additional cash infusion is salubrious for the company to keep the production schedule on track.

Lordstown Sticks With Endurance Production Schedule: Pre-revenue company Lordstown Motors Corp. (NASDAQ: RIDE), which is developing the Endurance EV pick-up truck, reported a wider loss for its second quarter. Investors, however, were appeased by the company’s reaffirmation that limited production of the vehicle will start as per schedule by late September.

Li Auto’s Subdued Hong Kong Debut: Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) shares began trading on the Hong Kong Exchange Thursday following its $1.49 billion dual primary listing. The stock has been mostly trading below the offer price of 118 Hong Kong dollars.

Tesla Battery Supplier to Raise Up to $9B: CATL, which supplies batteries to the likes of Tesla and Nio, announced plans to raise 58.2 billion yuan ($9.8 billion) through a private placement. The company expects to use the proceeds to fund six projects to increase the production of lithium-ion batteries.

Workhorse, Kandi Tech Report Earnings: Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS) reported underwhelming revenues for the second quarter. Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: KNDI), a Chinese manufacturer of EVs and batteries, reported above-consensus revenues and a surprise profit for the second quarter.

EV Stock Performance for The Week: