Elon Musk Fails To Talk Up Tesla Stock, GM's 140K Chevy Bolt Recall, Lucid's Fund Infusion And More: Week

Electric vehicle stocks extended their losing streak this week as the broader market experienced volatility due to recession fears. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down for all five sessions of the week, taking its string of losses to six straight sessions.

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

Tesla Sell-off, Discounts And More: Tesla’s valuation dropped by over 18% this week as investors and backers fretted over what they dubbed CEO Elon Musk’s apathy. As Musk continued to chirp about his newly-acquired social media company, there was a feeling that he is according stepmotherly treatment to his flagship EV venture.

Musk participated in a Twitter Space, seemingly in a bid to quell the opposing voices, and issued reassuring comments. He suggested that Tesla is better positioned than any other company making complex manufacturing objects. He also said that he won’t be selling any more Tesla stock over the next 18-24 months.

Tesla continues to splurge its buyers with promotional offers, with the company increasing the discount on Model Y and Model 3 inventory vehicles in the U.S. to $7,500, up from the $3,750 offered in early December. This discount is available for a limited period until the end of the year before the EV tax credit kicks in next year.

Tesla has communicated to employees regarding a hiring freeze and further job cuts that are to come in the first quarter, an Electrek report said. There has been no confirmation from the company.

A Cybertruck-inspired Wireless Charging platform, priced at $300, for mobile devices was launched by Tesla, which can provide 15W fast charging power per Qi-capable devices such as mobile phones or earbuds. It isn’t expected to ship until February 2023.

Undeterred by Tesla stock’s sell-off, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest bought Tesla stock in four sessions this week.

Rivian Touts Pickup Truck With Longest Range: Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) announced its 2023 R1T quad-motor electrified pickup truck with the large-pack battery and 21-inch wheel now has the longest range on market. The distance traveled between two charges is now 328 miles, ahead of Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE:F) F-150 pickup truck.

Lucid Raises $1.5B: Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) announced this week that it has finalized a $1.5 billion equity offering that was initially announced in November. The bulk of the funding came from its majority investor — Saudi Public Investment Fund, while the remaining was raised through a secondary offering of shares.

In other news, the company announced that it has begun deliveries of Lucid Air in Europe, with its first customers in Germany and the Netherlands. The limited-production Dream Edition is available in two distinct versions for customers across the Atlantic.

GM’s Chevy Bolt Recall: General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) said it is recalling 140,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs in North America over the issue of the front seatbelt pre-tensioner exhaust gases coming in contact with floor carpeting fibers after a vehicle crash, potentially causing a fire. The affected vehicles are the ones from model years 2017 through 2023. Incidentally, the company issued a massive recall of the vehicle in 2021 due to battery fire risk and halted production as well. Production resumed only this April.

Nikola Delivers Tre BEV Truck to Los Angeles Airport: Tre Class 8 battery Semi truck maker Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ:NKLA) said it delivered its first truck to the Los Angeles World Airports. The latter became the first government entity to take delivery of a Nikola Tre BEV.

EV Stock Performances for The Week: