Investor's Corner

Tesla soars past $700 with help from optimism after strong EV sales in China

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) soared past the $700 threshold earlier today after strong electric vehicle sales figures in China from rival companies promoted optimism regarding Tesla’s potential July delivery figures. Fueled by a recent price reduction of the Model 3 Standard Range+ variant in July, forward-looking projections could hint toward a strong July for Tesla, building upon the robust Q2 figures the company established in China.

Tesla has not surpassed the $700 level since late April 2021 and has experienced a tumultuous 2021 due to supply chain shortages and unexpected bottlenecks in production due to excessive demand. Tesla has continued to build upon a streak of quarters that have resulted in increases in production and delivery rates, along with eight straight marks of profitability following last week’s Q2 2021 Earnings Call.

But, news that helps Tesla stock is not always directly related to Tesla’s performance as an individual automaker. Reports out of China this morning were bullish for the EV sector as a whole, as domestic automakers Nio, Li Auto, and Xpeng reported strong delivery figures for July. Nio accumulated 7,931 deliveries, bringing its 2021 total to 49,887, a number that eclipses its 2020 delivery figures for the entire year. It was not a record month for Nio, as June had 152 more vehicle deliveries, but the overall outlook is increasing due to Year-to-Date figures thus far. Nio stock rose 3% on news of its growth story. Li Auto was up 3.2% on news that it delivered 8,589 vehicles in July, a record for the company. Xpeng also traded at a gain of 7.3% and established a new monthly record with 8,040 vehicle deliveries.

This brings in the potential momentum builder for Tesla. The company has regularly been atop the vehicle sales leaderboard in China with the Model 3 and Model Y, dominating much of the competition and only being eclipsed by the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV, which is priced significantly lower due to less standard features. As domestic EV companies in China continue to build upon their growing sales figures monthly, Tesla, with its strong consumer base, favorable vehicle quality, and wide range of options, is looking to set another month aside with delivery figures that could rival its own records.

In June, Tesla delivered 33,155 vehicles, just a few hundred units off of its strong May, which yielded 33,463 cars making their way to customers. The small slide in delivery figures is not a concern, however. The CPCA recently stated that the EV market is expected to more than double to 2.4 million units this year, setting Tesla up for a continuing growth trend as the second half of 2021 kicks off. Unlike other automakers, Tesla does not report its delivery figures. They are instead compiled by the CPCA and will be published later this month. Expectations are that Tesla could deliver strong figures after reducing the price of its SR+ Model 3 in July.

Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus becomes even more competitive in China

The bullish trend of the EV market in China continues to work in favor of Tesla, which has established itself as the main player in the electric vehicle market in the country.

At the time of writing, Tesla stock was trading at $716.27, up 4.23%.

Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.

Tesla soars past $700 with help from optimism after strong EV sales in China
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