Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Insurance registrations for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicles in China decreased for the second week in a row, which may be due to the fact that the company’s top competitors in China are increasing their delivery rates. Tesla stock fell early on Tuesday, with recent crashes involving Tesla vehicles and a potential deal involving lithium also in the spotlight.
During the week of February 13-19, Tesla had 5,913 insurance registrations, which is a 15% decrease from the 6,963 registrations the company had during the previous week as well as the 8,643 registrations the week before that. A drop in the number of electric vehicle registrations in China after an initial surge in response to significant price reductions on January 6 may indicate that consumer interest is waning. However, Tesla Shanghai’s exports may be limiting the availability of electric vehicles for local delivery in other regions.
According to CnEVPost, there were 1,579 Tesla Model 3 vehicles among the insurance registrations that took place between February 13 and 19, while there were 4,334 Tesla Model Y vehicles registered.
Meanwhile, the majority of other electric vehicle manufacturers in China are continuing to see increased registrations as a result of increased production and demand following the Chinese New Year.
BYD, a company that competes with Tesla, reported 37,026 total insurance registrations, which is an increase of 18% in comparison to the registrations from the previous week. Registrations for China-based electric vehicle startups Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) and Nio (NYSE:NIO) both increased by 4% to 3,174 units, and XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) increased by 5% to 1,463 units. Li Auto’s registrations reached 4,238 units, while Nio’s registrations reached 3,174 units, and XPeng’s increased by 5%.
Bloomberg reported the week prior that Tesla would begin pausing some production at its Shanghai plant beginning on February 19 in order to retool production lines for an upgraded version of the Model 3 that is expected to be released later this year. This would be the third time that the Shanghai plant has been forced to shut down in a little under two months.
According to Bloomberg, Tesla has been gradually upgrading its production lines over the course of the past two months, and the company is planning to start delivering its new Model 3 sedan toward the end of this year. The world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer has not commented on rumors of a new Model 3.
According to Reuters, which cited sources, Tesla intended to produce an average of nearly 20,000 vehicles per week at its Shanghai plant during the months of February and March; however, it is unclear whether or not this actually occurred.
The upgrades that Tesla Shanghai performed in 2017 had an impact on production in July and early August.
Tesla Stock
The price of Tesla stock dropped by more than one percent before the market opened on Tuesday. The price of a share now stands at $203.35, representing a nearly 6% increase from the previous week. Since reaching a bear-market low of $101.81 on January 6, Tesla stock has more than doubled its price.
Tesla Crashes
A passenger was killed when an out-of-control Model 3 vehicle crashed into a building in Wenzhou on Friday. Meanwhile, over the weekend, state media in China reported that consumers have renewed concerns about the safety of Tesla vehicles.
A Tesla driver was killed in California on Saturday when their vehicle collided with a parked fire truck. The accident occurred in California.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has inquired about receiving additional details regarding that collision. Since late 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been looking into accidents involving Tesla Autopilot and stationary emergency vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Thursday that Tesla will be recalling more than 362,000 vehicles due to Full Self-Driving software safety flaws.
Elon Musk Eyes Lithium Play
Bloomberg reported late Friday night that the leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in the world is reportedly considering making an offer for Sigma Lithium. Sigma Lithium has not yet made any sales, but the company is getting ready to launch commercial production at its Brazil location in the month of April. Early on Tuesday, SGML stock experienced a surge of 21%. Both Albemarle and Sociedad Quimica inched their way closer to breaking even.
In the event that Tesla goes through with the acquisition of Sigma, it would come on the heels of General Motors purchasing a stake in Lithium Americas.
IBD’s industry group for automobile manufacturers places TSLA stock in fourth place. The Composite Rating for Tesla stock is 71 out of a possible 99. Additionally, the stock carries a Relative Strength Rating of 28. The Earnings Per Share (EPS) Rating is a 99.
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