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Tesla's monster bull run continues as TSLA soars past $880 in Tuesday pre-market

Tesla Model 3 production line in Gigafactory 3, Shanghai, China. (Credit: Tesla)

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Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) monster rally, which saw the electric car maker end Monday’s trading with a 19.89% gain at $780 per share, is not showing any signs of stopping. During Tuesday’s pre-market, Tesla shares actually touched the $900 per share level, a new record for the electric car maker.

This is incredibly remarkable for a company that, just a few quarters ago, was trading at around $180 per share. During that time, Tesla critics and short-sellers were dominating the narrative, and many alleged that the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker was at a terminal decline. It may be strange today, but the narrative then was that Tesla had a serious problem for its vehicles, and Model 3 sales are about to tank across the globe. 

The opposite proved to be true, of course. Following a surprise profit in the third quarter of 2019, Tesla shares recovered and started a massive bull run that continues well into this day. Tesla Model 3 sales also remained strong across multiple regions. Over this time, Tesla shares broke through several barriers, including the once-famed $420 stock price quoted by CEO Elon Musk during his short-lived attempt to take Tesla private back in 2018. 

Things only accelerated when Tesla posted profits for Q4 2019, with the company registering $7.38 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $2.14, beating the Street’s estimates. This new milestone, which was augmented by recent breakthroughs such as the start of local Made-in-China Model 3 production and deliveries in Giga Shanghai, only helped push TSLA stock further, culminating in Monday’s massive 19.89% surge. 

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What is rather remarkable is that according to S3 Partners Managing Director of Predictive Analytics Ihor Dusaniwsky, Tesla actually remains heavily shorted. Despite an accumulated loss of over $21 billion since Tesla went public, short-sellers appear to be holding on and doubling down on their positions. This means that inasmuch as Tesla’s stock has risen drastically, a real short squeeze, which would involve mass numbers of short-sellers being forced out of their positions, is yet to happen. 

Tesla stock is being backed by some serious momentum. Apart from the start of local Model 3 deliveries in China from its Giga Shanghai facility, the company’s Model Y program has also been accelerated, with the crossover now expected to begin deliveries in the next few months. This is far earlier than the company’s initial estimates, which listed the Model Y’s deliveries to start in late 2020 instead. Tesla’s battery partner Panasonic has also posted its first quarterly profit from its business with the electric car maker, ultimately curbing speculations that the relationship of the American company and the Japanese firm were in rocky waters. 

With an hour to go before markets open, Tesla stock is trading up 13.44% at $884.84 during Tuesday’s pre-market.

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid CEO dispels any rumors of bankruptcy: ‘So far from the facts’

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Credit: Lucid

Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli responded to rumors of an imminent bankruptcy that was reportedly being mulled after a report stated the automaker was working with the firm AlixPartners to iron out its next steps.

The company felt a massive loss on Wall Street yesterday, as the report essentially pushed the stock down as much as 55 percent on Tuesday.

The report, published initially by Eletric-Vehicles.com, claimed Lucid was essentially in dire straits and was told by AlixPartners, a commonly used restructuring advisor, to either take shares private or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

Lucid’s head of Communications, Nick Twork, immediately challenged the report and stated the company “has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year.”

Now, the company’s CEO is chiming in as well, stating that the report is “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”

Napoli said:

“Lucid is not considering bankruptcy or a transaction to take the company private. Those reports are false. The Board did not explore either scenario. Period.

As disclosed in our most recent quarterly filing, Lucid has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations well into next year.

We work with outside advisors to improve operational performance and execution. They are not advising Lucid on a take-private transaction or bankruptcy, and any suggestion that they have recommended either course of action to management or the Board is false.

My priority is clear: turn this company around. That is where the leadership team and I are focused.

I look forward to providing a full update during our quarterly earnings call on August 4th.”

It seems pretty clear that Lucid is confident things will be okay, and, to be honest, they should not have much to worry about, especially considering the company has been backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for years. It has solid financial backing, and its sales, while weak, are pretty much right on par with a company of this age.

Lucid also sent a Cease & Desist letter to the publication for their report.

Lucid shares have rebounded nicely and are up nearly 21 percent at the time of publication. As soon as the company dispelled the rumors of bankruptcy yesterday, the stock began to climb back toward more reasonable levels.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla gets price target upgrade on heels of crazy successful auto quarter

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla received a price target upgrade just on the heels of what was a crazy successful quarter for its automotive business, as the company reported a delivery beat of over 15 percent for Q2.

Jefferies analysts are upping Tesla’s price target (NASDAQ: TSLA) to $400 from $375, while maintaining their “Hold” rating on shares, and the strong automotive deliveries from Q2 is a big reason. However, there are some other catalysts that Jefferies believes position Tesla for a strong position in the second half of the year.

Strong Deliveries

Tesla reported 480,000 deliveries for Q2, while Wall Street was between 395,000 and 405,000, as an overall consensus. It was an incredibly strong quarter from a delivery perspective, and Tesla sold well more than it produced during the three months.

Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent

While vehicle deliveries are not necessarily looked at in the light that they used to be, Tesla still maintains a lot of advantages for keeping deliveries strong. With the loss of the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year, Tesla still maintains a strong demand case for its EVs.

Robotaxi Performance

Tesla has been operating Robotaxi for over a year now, as it launched in Austin in mid-2025. That program has expanded to Houston and Dallas, the San Francisco Bay Area, and, most recently, Miami, Florida, the suite’s first appearance in the Sunshine State.

While the Robotaxi suite is still in its early phases and Tesla is working through things like fleet size and wait times, the company has been able to undercut the pricing of its competitors and has a great safety record.

Merger Speculation with Tesla and SpaceX

This is perhaps the biggest topic that many are speaking about with Tesla and SpaceX, and it is the one thing that seems to be on the mind of every investor.

Jefferies warns that growing talk of a Tesla-SpaceX merger could cause Tesla stock to trade more like a SpaceX proxy, which may disconnect it from underlying automotive fundamentals. SpaceX has a lot going for it, especially its compute deals that have been widely publicized as of late.

Profitability in New Projects Could Take Some Time

Tesla has a few long-term ventures in the pipeline, most notably the Optimus project and Robotaxi, which is launched but will take several years to expand to a meaningful level that resonates with everyday people.

This is something that investors need to be careful of. Tesla’s projects could take some time to round out, so Jefferies advises that these may carry initial losses, rather than immediate profit. Seasoned Tesla investors have echoed something like this for a long time; they knew going in it would not be an open-and-shut strategy. It was going to take time.

These new projects are no different.

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