Electric Dreams: Tesla Stock Surges on Global EV Sales and TikTok Rumors
A Record Year for Electric Vehicles
Global sales of fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids reached an all-time high in 2024, with 17.1 million units sold. According to research firm Rho Motion, December sales rose 25.6% year on year to 1.9 million. Although sales slowed for the second consecutive month, the electric vehicle market is showing no signs of slowing down.
Tesla Stock Pops on Promising Data
Tesla (TSLA) stock initially surged on the heels of the promising global electric vehicle sales data, temporarily extending gains from Monday. The stock flipped into positive territory in afternoon trading, ending the session up more than 2%. However, it ultimately closed 1.7% lower.
Musk’s Expanding Empire
Media reports suggest that Chinese authorities may allow Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), to buy the US operations of social media platform TikTok. This potential sale is part of a contingency plan as a deadline approaches for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to either divest or face a US ban. A TikTok spokesperson dismissed the report, calling it “pure fiction.”
Wall Street Takes Note of Musk’s Reach
Broadly, Wall Street has been taking note of Elon Musk’s extensive reach across various companies and data collection, spanning electric vehicles, satellites, and social media. Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas recently released a note on Tesla, making a bull case for $800 per share and raising his 12-month price target from $400 to $430. Jonas highlighted Tesla’s natural advantages in data collection, robotics, energy storage, AI/compute, manufacturing, and supporting infrastructure, as well as the benefits of working across Musk’s other companies, including SpaceX and xAI.
Tesla Shares: A Proxy for the “Trump Trade”
Tesla shares have been a proxy for the “Trump trade” following the presidential elections in early November. Shares are up roughly 65% since Donald Trump’s White House victory. This week’s stock movement marks a reversal from recent trends, as investors rotated out of tech stocks in reaction to pared-down expectations of Fed rate cuts this year. Tesla shares are off roughly 13% from their all-time high close of $479.86 on Dec. 17.
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