Shares of Tesla Inc. got a late-session boost on Monday, snapping a three-day losing run as the United Auto Workers strike enters its second week and as the electric-vehicle maker reportedly looks to build a battery factory in India.
The stock
TSLA,
carried some of that strength into the extended session, and at last check it was up 0.2%.
The stock has lost about 12% since the start of the UAW strike on Sept. 14. The strike began at one factory each of Ford Motor Co.
F,
General Motors Co.
GM,
and Stellantis NV
STLA,
and the UAW last Friday expanded the strike to 38 GM and Stellantis auto-parts distribution centers across 20 states, while saying it had made progress in talks with Ford.
Tesla for years has fended off efforts to unionize its U.S. factories, and it pays its hourly workers around 38% less, according to some calculations, than workers at the Big Three automakers earn.
The strike also hits the major U.S. automakers at a time when they are funding the costly transition to EVs. Wall Street analysts have singled out Tesla as the one to benefit from the strike as the company widens its first-mover advantage.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported over the weekend that Tesla is looking to build a factory in India to produce stationary storage batteries.
See also: UAW strike could soon inflict ‘max pain’ on Big Three if it moves to pickup-truck assembly lines
The report, which cited two people familiar with the plan, said that Tesla has submitted a proposal to Indian officials. Tesla reportedly has also been in talks about building an EV-assembly plant in India, one of many countries that have courted the company in recent weeks. Tesla has also reportedly received environmental-impact permits at a potential site in northern Mexico.
Despite the recent downdraft, Tesla’s stock has nearly doubled in the year to date, compared with an advance of around 13% for the S&P 500
SPX.
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