Tesla
stock is rising again. There isn’t much news which always has investors asking what’s up. There are a couple of things to pin early Tuesday gains on. Improving market share might be the biggest one.
In early trading, Tesla stock (ticker: TSLA) was up 2.1% while major indexes were falling. The
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite
were down 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
Some of the move might be simply relief following a week of Musk-related turmoil at his social-media platform X.
In the past week, Musk endorsed a claim that Jewish communities are pushing hatred against white people in a series of posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. His remarks drew condemnation from the Anti-Defamation League, the White House, and others.
Tesla stock was trading at about $243 before Musk’s tweet. Shares are now at about $242, down a little while the Nasdaq was up almost 1% over the same span.
There is some car-related news as well. Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner wrote Monday that Tesla has started distributing a new version of its driver-assistance software called Full Self Driving, or FSD. The update has a host of improvements including improved speed control, better pedestrian recognition, and better interactions with other vehicles on the road, wrote the analyst.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the release, which is called Version 12. Not all drivers get the update at the same time. On Nov. 12, Musk said on X that the latest update would be ready in about “two weeks.”
Better driver-assistance technology drives sales of FSD software for Tesla. Most Tesla drivers can purchase FSD for $12,000 outright, or $199 a month. Musk’s goal is for FSD to become so useful that drivers are allowed to stop paying attention to the road. That will drive more sales and enable Tesla to start robotaxi services.
A third reason for Tesla’s stock gains is overall electric-vehicle growth. European registrations of all battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, grew about 30% year over year in October, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. That’s solid growth helping investors overcome fears that EV sales are starting to slow amid higher interest rates and a slowing global economy.
Year to date, about 1.6 million BEVs have been sold in Europe, accounting for about 15% of all new car sales, up from about 12% over the same span of 2022.
In October, Tesla’s European market share was up to nearly 18% of new BEV sales in 2023, up from about 13% in 2022.
Tesla’s month-to-month market share in Europe fluctuates based on export sales from its Chinese plant. Tesla’s market share in October amounted to about 11% of European BEV sales. Its share in September amounted to about 18%. Tesla actually exported more cars from China in October than it did in September, but there is a lag in plant shipments and registration data.
Price cuts have helped Tesla drive volume in 2023. Some versions of the Model Y cost about $17,000 less than they did a year ago. In the first three quarters of the year, Tesla has shipped 1.3 million units, up from about 909,000 in the year-ago period.
Tesla transaction prices in the U.S., however, were up about 5% in October from September, according to Kelly Blue Book data released about a week ago. That’s the first month-over-month increase in 2023. The end of pricing pressure is something investors will welcome, and can help the stock.
Whatever the exact reason, or mix of reasons, Tesla investors are more upbeat Tuesday.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
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