After a week of big announcements related to Tesla’s Semi-truck, the Chinese automotive industry’s proposed ban on gas and diesel cars, and a new Supercharger for urban use, Tesla shares pushed closer to its all time high of $386.99 a share as the closing bell approaches.
TSLA opened last Friday, September 8, at $343.43. Currently, the price is $376.60, a roughly 9.6 percent increase in just one week of trading.
It was certainly a big week for the company, as CEO Elon Musk teased that the long awaited all-electric Semi truck would be unveiled October 26 at its Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, CA. Shares jumped nearly 3 percent following this announcement by Musk on Twitter.
The good news didn’t stop there for the Silicon Valley-based electric car company. China announced on Tuesday that it was planning to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles. Despite not releasing a timetable for the ban, China is home to the largest automotive consumer base in the world.
For Tesla, the largest automotive market in the world transitioning to electric power means an excellent opportunity to achieve market share. A day later, Tesla released a company video on its YouTube channel committing to reaching 1,000 installed Superchargers in China by year’s end.
The video also featured testimonials from Chinese drivers who were pleased with their Tesla experience.
A final big event for Tesla this week was the company’s announcement on Monday regarding the addition of new Superchargers to city centers, starting with Boston and Chicago. The compact 72 kW Superchargers will be unaffected by “charge splitting” and will help power Tesla drivers in densely populated regions.
Amid the big announcements, reports surfaced discussing a complaint from the California New Car Dealers Association regarding Tesla’s referral program. The complaint accused Tesla of using “bird-dogging” tactics to turn enthused customers into salespeople.
Tesla responded to complaint, which will be reviewed by the Department of Motor Vehicle by saying, “This is just another example of car dealers trying to interfere with us and our customers. The regulations prohibit rogue car salespeople. Does anyone seriously think our customers are salespeople that the public needs to be protected from?”
Despite this news, Tesla is looking at a historic week of market gains. Closing above $375 on Friday positions the company to be within range of its all-time-high just shy of its 52-week high $386.99.
