With everything that’s going on in the markets right now, one of the biggest winners happens to be Elon Musk’s car company. Most automakers have seen sales slump following the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown, with many companies having been forced into making significant layoffs. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), on the other hand, has seen its shares explode to fresh record highs. In particular, investors met with a competitor of Tesla’s, Nikola, which is also working to develop an electric semi-truck for consumers. In response, Elon Musk said that he would “go all out” to make sure his product was superior.
Elon mentioned in a memo that was first published by a publication called Electrek, which focuses primarily on the electric vehicle industry (with an emphasis on Tesla), that it was finally time to do everything possible and ramp up production of the Tesla Semi. He went on to comment that the truck’s batteries would be produced in the company’s Nevada factory, while other components would be manufactured and assembled in other states.
The news also follows another company that recently went public last week. Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA), an Arizona-based electric-truck maker that’s looking to compete with Tesla, has quickly become one of the hottest IPOs of this year, which isn’t saying much considering most public offers have dissipated in light of the pandemic. Nikola’s shares almost doubled shortly after going public, although shares have tumbled significantly following this news from Tesla. As competition between the two companies ramps up, it’s a pretty clear sign that demand for electric vehicles is continuing to grow.
Tesla had first unveiled the concept of the Tesla Semi back in November 2017, where the basic model was expected to cost around $150,000. Since then, the company has been taking reservations for the truck, demanding a $20,000 upfront payment, which could be further broken down as a $5,000 credit-car payment and a $15,000 wire transfer. While there were many critics at the time, especially since skepticism surrounding when Tesla would become profitable was still floating around, the general sentiment surrounding Musk’s auto company has never been better.
Overall, shares of Tesla shot up by 9% on Wednesday in response to the news, with the stock price now breaking $1,000. Over the past year, Tesla has seen an impressive 140%, well-outperforming the vast majority of car companies on the market. Now with a market cap of $190 billion, Tesla is close to becoming the second-largest valued car maker in the world, a title that currently lies with Toyota, whose market cap is around $216 billion.
Tesla Company Profile
Founded in 2003 and based in Palo Alto, California, Tesla is a vertically integrated sustainable energy company that also aims to transition the world to electric mobility by making electric vehicles. It sells solar panels and solar roofs for energy generation plus batteries for stationary storage for residential and commercial properties including utilities. The Tesla Roadster debuted in 2008, Model S in 2012, Model X in 2015, Model 3 in 2017, and Model Y in 2020. Global deliveries in 2019 were 367,656 units. Tesla went public in 2010 and employs about 50,000 people. – Warrior Trading News
