Investors in the world of battery-powered automotive stocks might have gotten a case of whiplash in Monday trading. Shares of would-be electric-truck maker Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA) jumped more than 5% in early trading and ended up closing down less than 1%. Shares of Canadian electric-car maker Electrameccanica Vehicles (NASDAQ: SOLO) closed down 18% and Florida-based electric-car-charging company Blink Charging (NASDAQ: BLNK) closed down 15%.
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In the stock market, there's an advantage to being a first mover. Tesla, the company that popularized electric cars in the minds of the car-buying public, is an excellent example of a company that has become so well identified with its signature product that everyone who tries to make a similar product looks kind of like an also-ran.