Electric vehicle stocks defied the broader market optimism and ended mostly lower in the week that ended on March 8, led by Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA). Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) got a reprieve as investors cheered the introduction of new models by the Irvine, California-based company.
Here are the key events that happened in the EV space during the week:
Tesla Berlin Outage, Freebies And More: The week marked a tumultuous ride for Tesla as number crunchers and few analysts warned of a potential first-quarter deliveries miss. Fund manager Gary Black said he sees the 474,000-unit consensus delivery estimate for the first quarter going down.
The Future Fund managing partner also said the Street will likely lower its 2024 deliveries and earnings per share estimates over the next few weeks. The firm’s flagship Future Fund Active ETF (NYSE:FFND) exchange-traded fund significantly reduced its Tesla holding, with the stock now accounting for under 3% weighting of the portfolio, down from 5%+ at the start of the week.
Tesla also faced negative headlines this week as suspected arson outside the Giga Berlin factory snapped the power supply to the plant and halted production. Tesla’s European factory may have to remain closed at least until March 17, reports said. Black stated that the disruption might not decrease deliveries since Tesla maintains high Model Y inventories in Europe.
In a big quarter-end push, Tesla said it would offer customers who take delivery of a new car by March 31 the option to receive as much as 10,000 miles of free supercharging, with the offer applicable to Model Y, Model ...