Elon Musk Committed To Tesla, Rivian Shuns Price Cuts, Fisker Stutters At Start And More: Biggest EV Stories Of The Week

Electric vehicle stocks experienced another week of mixed performance, with earnings impacting stock moves. Market leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA had a down week amid several negative headlines.

Here are the key events that happened in the EV space during the week:

Tesla's Leadership Rumors, Price Hikes And More: Tesla shares came under selling pressure on Friday, following reports of CEO Elon Musk stepping down. The stock fell nearly 2.4% on the reports. The billionaire entrepreneur later clarified that he intends to focus more on Tesla now that he is leaving Twitter leadership to a new CEO.

In an encouraging sign, Tesla hiked EV prices yet again in the U.S. this week, reversing some of the aggressive cuts it had been implementing since the start of the year. This week saw Model S and X prices in the U.S. go up by $1,000 and Model Y prices increase by a more modest $250. Analysts such as Future Fund's Gary Black see this as a positive development, giving hope that margins could bottom in the second quarter.

Tesla was also hit with a recall this week, as Chinese regulators ordered the recall of 1.1 million Tesla cars that were both imported and made in China. The recalled vehicles could have issues that raise the probability of drivers "mistakenly stepping on the accelerator pedal" for an extended period, potentially increasing the risk of collision, regulators said. The company clarified that the issue would be resolved with a wireless software update.

See also: Best Electric Vehicle Stocks

Rivian Hints At Keeping Prices High After Beating Q1 Estimates: Amid a string of quarterly disappointments in the EV sector, Rivian Automotive, Inc.’s RIVN first-quarter performance gave some reason for cheer. The company's key first-quarter metrics exceeded estimates, albeit only slightly, and Rivian maintained its full-year production guidance.

Following the results, CEO R.J. Scaringe said price reductions for its flagship models are not in the works, given that the EVs are not produced in high volumes and that the premium pricing can be justified by their better performance and features.

Fisker's Ocean Debut: Close on the heels of its first deliveries of the Ocean SUV, Fisker, Inc. FSR was earlier rumored to be facing problems with the SUV’s debut launch due to software integration problems. The company clarified to Benzinga that the Bloomberg report was inaccurate and that no Ocean customer vehicles were on their way back to Fisker’s partner and automotive manufacturer Magna.

The company also slashed its Ocean production guidance by about 10,000 units to 32,000 units.

Separately, the company's CEO Henrik Fisher said at the Financial Times’ Future of the Car Summit that production of its budget model PEAR SUV will be postponed from 2024 to the first half of 2025 due to negotiations with battery suppliers.

Li Auto's Strong Q1: Despite an intensifying rivalry in China, domestic startup Li Auto, Inc. LI reported better-than-expected first-quarter deliveries and turned around to a profit. The company also issued upbeat deliveries forecast for the second quarter.

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Toyota Charts Out Ambitious EV Plan: Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. TM, which reported its fourth-quarter results this week, said it expects to see a fivefold rise in pure electric vehicle sales in the new fiscal year. The world's biggest automaker by volume based the optimism on easing global supply chain challenges.

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EV Stock Performances for The Week:

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