Which carmaker crammed seven motors into its electric SUV?

Which automaker said it no longer has plans for fuel-cell passenger vehicles?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverseright here at Green Car Reportsfor the week ending July 24, 2020.

The biggest series of stories of the week for the green-vehicle sector came out of Teslas periodic update Wednesday. Although it was news in itself that Tesla reported another profitable quarter, despite the challenges of the pandemic, CEO Elon Musk took the headline with the announcement that Tesla has chosen Austin, Texas, for a plant that will assemble the Cybertruck and Semi, plus Model Y and Model 3 for Eastern North America. Musk also confirmed Teslas use of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells in some Model 3 sedans built in China, which will help the company free up its more energy-dense cells for the Semi.

BYD Han EV

The BYD Han EV is the flagship model for the Chinese automaker 25% owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. As a battery expert as much as an EV car and truck maker, BYD hopes to sell its new safety-oriented Blade battery that debuts in the Han EV to other automakers, tooand likely encroach on Teslas market if not in the U.S., overseas.

Rivian started the pilot production line for its upcoming electric trucks, and that means theyll be delayed about six months overallto June 2021 for the R1T and August 2021 for the R1S.

Rivian R1S

Ford showed a new seven-motor, 1,400-horsepower version of the Mach-E electric SUV, called the Mach-E 1400. With plans to demonstrate the vehicle at a NASCAR event, the point is clearly getting those who might not have considered an EV to notice their performance potential.

There were several interesting pieces of news about plug-in hybrid products. And Jeep detailed two of its upcoming plug-in hybrid modelsthe Renegade 4xe and Compass 4xefor Europe, although the brand hasnt yet said whether these models will be coming to the U.S. The 2021 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring plug-in hybrid hasnt been rated by the EPA for miles or mpg, but this model that will arrive later this fall already has a price tag that, after credits and incentives, might make it more affordable than the non-hybrid. And the next-generation version of the Mitsubishi Outlander was spotted in California, but before that arrives theres a mechanical upgradewith more electric rangefor the 2021 Outlander Plug-In Hybrid.

2021 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring

Battery origins have become an important part of our EV coverage. Swedens Northvolt will be supplying BMW with $2.3 billion in electric-car batteries. Although its contract comes after those inked with Samsung SDI and CATL, its the only one thats headquartered in the EU. Meanwhile, Volkswagen and Ford voiced concern over a conflict between rival South Korean battery suppliers LG Chem and SK Innovation that could potentially get in the way of U.S. EV production.

Otherwise, Volkswagen confirmed that its ID.4 crossover is on-time for first U.S. deliveries in late 2020, with U.S. production in 2022.

VW ID.4 crossover

The Audi E-Tron SUV was the first electric vehicle to win the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating last year, and now the closely related E-Tron Sportback has done the same. Audi also revealed its been studying bi-directional charging functionalityboth for vehicle-to-home (V2H) tech to help buffer solar or vehicle-to-grid (V2G) tech to help balance the grid. It could be a few years before its ready in a product, however.

General Motors confirmed that its no longer working on hydrogen fuel-cell passenger carsalthough its fuel-cell development is pushing ahead with Honda and it aims to use the tech for military and fuel-cell vehicles.

UK-based Twisted Automotive will offer a limited number of Land Rover Defender 90 electric conversions for the U.S.

Twisted NAS-E electric Land Rover Defender

And last weekend we looked at the recently announced discontinuation of the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris and wondered if the age of the cheap, city-savvy, fuel-efficient small car is over.

Go here to see the original:

Tesla Texas, BYD Han EV, Rivian delay, battery supplies, the end of small cars: The Week in Reverse - Green Car Reports

The iShares Self-Driving/EV And Tech ETF (IDRV) is a way investors can participate in rapidly growing electric vehicle industry while not placing too big a bet on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). Despite TSLA's recent pull-back from $1,750 to Friday's close of $1,415 (~20%), some investors - including myself - feel the stock has gotten way ahead of itself and is significantly overvalued. That said, it's hard to argue with Tesla's success in brand marketing, the China manufacturing plant, battery technology, and its potential to leverage its technology base into the home and industrial solar power and battery storage sectors. The point is: any long-term investment in the EV market obviously must include exposure to Tesla.

The IDRV ETF appears to be just such an investment. The list of the top-10 holdings is shown below:

Source: iShares.com

As can be seen, IDRV has a 6.5% position in Tesla. I've been waiting for Tesla to pull-back before buying shares in IDRV. The prospect that Tesla will be added to the S&P 500 after achieving four straight quarters of positive net-income appears to be fully baked into the stock in my opinion. In addition, I am concerned Tesla may soon take advantage of its high flying stock to announce a common stock offering to finance the recently announced manufacturing facility to be built in Austin, TX.

Combined with the big drop in Intel (INTC) Friday (together INTC and TSLA equate to ~10% of IDRV's entire portfolio), it appears to be a good time initiate a position. Note IDRV was down -1.7% Friday.

I also find this ETF's diversified investment approach to the EV market very attractive. As one can see from the top-10 holdings above (which equate to roughly 45% of the entire portfolio), IDRV holds positions in key technology companies that will provide electronic chips and components to EVs (Nvidia (NVDA), Siemans (SIE), Schneider Electric, Qualcomm (QCOM) and Samsung) in addition to investments in software and mobile oriented companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

It is important to note that many of these technology companies will also benefit from the roll-out of 5G communications, which - in my opinion - is fully synergistic with the EV and self-driving markets.

Following my desire to allocate more capital outside of the US (see Newmont: How To Profit From The Potential End Of "King Dollar"), I like IDRV's exposure to foreign markets. While US investments are just over 50% of the portfolio, there is attractive exposure to Germany (14.3%), Japan (11%), and South Korea (8.8%). While the German economy is expected to shrink by 6.5% this year, Reuters reports that Europe's economy is likely to recover faster than that of the U.S. due to "starkly difference responses to the coronavirus."

I would have liked to have seen more direct exposure to Chinese companies in the fund (only 1.2%), but one could argue most of the companies in IDRV's portfolio are either directly or indirectly affected by China's fast growing EV market.

Like most of iShares ETFs, the expense ratio is reasonable at 0.47%. And despite the market turmoil this year, IDRV is up a respectable 8.9% YTD. The yield (1.26%) may seem inconsequential, but note that is more than 2x the current yield of the 10-year Treasury (0.59%).

Like virtually any investment, there are risks here. First, of course, is the fact that Tesla is the #1 holding and the correction in that arguably over-valued stock could be far from over. That said, Tesla has a 6.5% weighting, and I am comfortable (and like) the exposure to that company.

On the the Q2 conference call, Tesla appeared to be sticking with its guidance for 500,000 cars delivered this year. But Elon Musk it is not a demand issue:

It's really just a production issue. It's been pretty hard when you've got like a global supply chain, and it's kind of whatever the most effective part of supply chain is that sets your rate.

Note the 500K delivery target this year means 320,000 deliveries in the coming two quarters (Q3,Q4), which is obviously quite an acceleration from the ~180,000 units delivered in the first two quarters.

Secondly, many of the holdings are "high flying" tech stocks for which many analysts say are due to come back to Earth. In addition, executives from both Apple and Alphabet - which together compose about 8% of the portfolio - are scheduled to testify in front of Congress regarding anti-competitive practices. This could pose some headline risks, as well as the potential for punitive fines. But I like the growth potential of these companies even in the face of the current global economic contraction due to COVID-19: growth is essential in near zero interest rate environment when real rates are negative.

Third, there is always the possibility that EV market expectations don't measure up to its projected growth rate. According to the IEA, sales of electric cars topped 2.1 million globally in 2019, surpassing 2018 a record year to boost the stock to 7.2 million electric cars.Electric cars, which accounted for 2.6% of global car sales last year, registered a 40% year-over-year increase:

Source: EIA

If COVID-19 effects on the global economy short-circuit the established EV growth rate as shown in the chart above, valuations for EV related stocks could come down accordingly.

Lastly, the IDRV ETF has only been around a little more than a year, so there is no long-term track record to evaluate.

I find the iShares Self-Driving/EV and Tech ETF to be an excellent way to participate in the growing global market for EVs through a diversified approach. But with Tesla still trading at such a tremendously high valuation, I plan to move in slowly by dollar-cost-averaging over the next 12-18 months. I am initiating a starter position now and it my intent to establish a full portfolio allocation by end of 2021.

I'll finish with a chart of IDRV's performance since its inception in April of 2019:

Source: Yahoo Finance

Disclosure: I am/we are long GOOG. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Additional disclosure: I intend to open a position in IDRV in the next few trading days.

I am an engineer, not a CFA. The information and data presented in this article were obtained from company documents and/or sources believed to be reliable, but have not been independently verified. Therefore, the author cannot guarantee their accuracy. Please do your own research and contact a qualified investment advisor. I am not responsible for the investment decisions you make.

Go here to see the original:

Electric Vehicles: An ETF That's More Than Just A Bet On Tesla - Seeking Alpha

Capital markets have voted. Technology companies are in, and Texas oil and gas companies are out. Thats not necessarily all bad news for Texas, which has been courting companies like Tesla and Amazon to set up shop here, but with mixed results. News that electric automaker Teslas market capitalization has surpassed that of ExxonMobil reflects more than questionable premises about the growth potential of electric cars and the sunsetting of the gasoline engine. It reflects investors hopes and fears for the future. In a world where longstanding lifestyles were abandoned overnight in the shadow of a global pandemic, financial bets on companies proficient in self-transformation and technological innovation seem prudent. ExxonMobils pitch that it has staying power when incumbent oil and gas infrastructure takes years to revamp is simply not resonating with investors.

The sudden love affair with Tesla stock is partly linked to new potential for growth. Since it opened its Shanghai, China giga factory, analysts forecast increasing cash flow for the firm, which in March captured 30 percent of the crowded Chinese electric vehicle market amid depressed demand due to COVID-19. Teslas market capitalization has now surpassed $300 billion, up 175,000 percent since 2010. By contrast, ExxonMobils market capitalization has now fallen to around $185 billion, down from $350 billion a decade ago.

But Teslas attractions go beyond its improving financial outlook. Investors are betting on its expansive innovation potential. Not only has Tesla Energy installed the worlds largest lithium-ion battery to mitigate wind generation intermittency in South Australia, it has provided small-scale, household solutions to reduce the regions frequent brownouts. The company offers a load-balancing system in which solar panels are matched with in-home battery storage and smart inverters to bolster the grid when electricity demand peaks, creating a virtual power plant. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has alluded to the possibility of deploying a similar model with vehicle batteries, allowing Tesla owners to use their cars as backup power sources or even sell their battery storage back to the grid.

Tesla has weighed in on a policy debate in Texas over whether the state should loosen restrictions so electricity distribution companies can own storage to buttress operations, but regulatory disputes over who can own and operate Tesla battery systems in the state are ongoing. Texas, with its weather and other load challenges, would do well to follow Teslas advice to loosen who can own battery systemswhile protecting consumers and competitive markets for local energy generatorsso benefits are shared from the kind of forward-looking innovation the state is well known for.

For investors, Teslas innovation goes beyond cars and energy. It has also developed a giant HEPA filter, installed in Model S and Model X vehicles, which Tesla claims stops 99.97 percent of particles 0.3 micrometers or larger from entering the vehicle. Amid endemic pollution in major cities and growing questions about airborne COVID-19 transmission, its no wonder that Teslas Bioweapon Defense Mode is a hit.

Then there is Californias new Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which requires truck manufacturers to sell an annually increasing percentage of zero-emission trucks in the state over the next two decades. With its light-duty Cybertruck and heavy-duty Semi model due for release in 2021, Tesla is well positioned to supply the new market. The Cybertruck already has over 650,000 pre-orders, and Austin is knee-deep in competition with Tulsa, Okla., to house a new giga-factory for its production. Meanwhile, Teslas vehicle software is growing ever closer to facilitating full, self-driving autonomy.

The point is that Tesla is no longer just a car company. It is a technology company creating products with cross-industrial applications fit to solve some of the societys most pressing challenges. Ditto Amazon, which is an increasingly important bridge between many Americans and essential household supplies. At $1.65 trillion, Amazons capitalization is now 160 times higher than ExxonMobils as the marketplace and logistics company looks to new vertical integration opportunities including autonomous delivery vehicles.

Research and development spending made up 32.5 and 35.8 percent respectively of Teslas and Amazons total operating expenses in 2019, according to Bloomberg News. By contrast, ExxonMobils R&D budget was a paltry 8.7 percent of its operating expenses based on our calculations from Bloomberg data. Unlike its European peers who are actively pivoting to new energy businesses, ExxonMobils admirable R&D in algae biofuel and carbon sequestration has brought neither technology to scale. Rather, ExxonMobils notable technology and process improvement gains focus on the companys here and now oil opportunities in places like West Texas and Guyana, and thereby lack the visionary pizazz and breadth of wider applicability that draw investors to Tesla.

ExxonMobil continues to try to mobilize its base of investors around the idea that the company is well positioned with a strong balance sheet, promising legacy assets and topnotch engineering knowhow to both weather the current oil downturn and meet rebounding oil demand when the economy recovers. But sell-side analysts say current oil prices are too low for ExxonMobil to generate sufficient cash flow to cover its dividends without cutting spending, discouraging bargain hunters from bottom-picking the companys stock.

ExxonMobils plight is a cautionary tale for Texas industry and Houston as the energy capital. Though other companies like Hess, ConocoPhillips and Chevron are garnering some positive investor attention based on cash outlooks, the heady days when Texas shale was lauded as a growth business are fading, at least for now. The solution to investor apathy might not just be cutting costs, but a reemphasis on transformative technological innovations.

Myers Jaffe is author of the forthcoming book Energys Digital Future: Harnessing Innovation for American Resilience and National Security. Schreiber is a summer intern at the Council on Foreign Relations and an undergraduate student at Rice University.

Originally posted here:

Opinion: Teslas rise is a message to big oil in Texas its time to transform - Houston Chronicle

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell:

IBM IBM shares rose more than 6% in extended trading following the release of the company's second quarter earnings. The technology company reported second quarter earnings of$2.18 per share excluding items on revenues of $18.12 billion. This beat what Refinitiv analysts had predicted as earnings of $2.07 on revenues of $17.72 billion.

Moderna Moderna's stock fell 1% after the closing bell after falling 12.83% earlier in the day. The stock saw a drop after Pfizer and BioNTech reported promising data from their experimental coronavirus vaccine, showing their vaccine was safe and induced an immune response in patients. Moderna's stock was also downgraded by JPMorgan to neutral from overweight.Another coronavirus vaccine maker, Novavax, saw its shares climb 3% in extended trading.

Nikola Shares of electric truck maker rose 1% and whipsawed in after hours. Nikola's stock fell 10% earlier during the day after the company filed a new stock offering related to warrants and Deutsche Bank analysts said there could be more selling ahead.

TeslaThe automaker's stock gained 1% in extended trading after jumping 9.5% earlier Monday. CNBC contributor Jim Cramer said in a tweet that Tesla's big move, as well as those of Amazon and Microsoft, which rose 7.4% and 4.3% earlier Monday, was "truly insane." Tesla is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings results Wednesday.

Noble Energy Shares of the oil and gas company rose 1% after the closing bell. Noble's stock rose 5.4% earlier Monday after Chevron announced it willacquire the companyin an all-stock deal valued at $5 billion.

See the article here:

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: IBM, Moderna, Tesla and more - CNBC

Only 2500 Lotus-based Tesla Roadsters were built, and the final one is for sale in Switzerland for more than AU$2 million.

The last original Tesla Roadster to be built has come onto the market in Switzerland for more than AU$2 million.

The 2012 car's Lotus-designed chassis is fitted with a 185kW electric motor that propels it from 0 to 100kmh in a claimed 4.0 seconds.

When new, a battery range of 393km was estimated.

The listed car is finished in sparkling white and has a white and black interior trim, full carbon package, carbon diffusor, and VIN 2500 badging (recognising that it was the 2500th and last Roadster built).

Dozens of Tesla employees also signed the car's battery pack on completion, and a scribble in the bottom left-hand corner strongly resembles the signature of company CEO Elon Musk.

According to the listing the car has been stored on tyre pillows on marble floor and was never registered.

It has just 200km on the odometer.

The vehicle is listed for 1,390,000 (approximately AU$2,082,220) which, if sold, would make it the world's most expensive electric car.

In Australia the 2012 Roadster was initially sold from $191,888 plus on-road costs slightly less than a Porsche 911 at the time.

Only one version of the car is currently listed for sale in Australia.

Located in Blackheath, NSW, the red MY2011 car is listed at $144,000.

The seller, Simon Crawford-Ash, told CarAdvice the Roadster represented a "pivotal moment" in automotive history.

"The rawness of it is what makes it so special. It is raw, unpolished and incredible to drive," he said.

"It is inspiring to touch and see how much had to be redesigned from an ordinary car. It is exposed and raw, and it feels very much like the prototype of future cars."

In 2017 Tesla announced plans for a new Roadster (pictured below), this time with a fixed roof, and claimed it would be capable of accelerating from 0 to 100kmh in 1.9 seconds faster than any production car available today.

After initially stating the car would be available by 2020, Tesla now says the Roadster will be launched in 2022.

Final Tesla Roadster ever built listed for more than $2 million

Excerpt from:

Final Tesla Roadster ever built listed for more than $2 million - CarAdvice

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y in Hawthorne, California on ... [+] March 14, 2019. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

Tesla Inc. TSLA is scheduled to release earnings after Wednesday's close. The stock just hit a record high of $1794.99/share and is currently trading near $1612.65/share. The stock is prone to big moves after reporting earnings and can easily gap up if the numbers are strong. Conversely, if the numbers disappoint, the stock can easily gap down. To help you prepare, here is what the Street is expecting:

Earnings Preview:

Teslais expected to report a loss of ($0.71)/share on $4.67 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, the so-called Whisper number is a loss of ($0.23). The Whisper number is the Street's unofficial view on earnings.

Company Profile & Various Businesses:

Here is a brief company profile:

Tesla, Inc., formerly Tesla Motors, Inc. TSLA , incorporated on July 1, 2003, designs, develops, manufactures and sells fully electric vehicles, and energy storage systems, as well as installs, operates and maintains solar and energy storage products. The Company operates through two segments: automotive, and energy generation and storage. The automotive segment includes the design, development, manufacturing, and sales of electric vehicles. The energy generation and storage segment includes the design, manufacture, installation, and sale or lease of stationary energy storage products and solar energy systems to residential and commercial customers, or sale of electricity generated by its solar energy systems to customers.

Pay Attention To How The Stock Reacts To The News:

From where I sit, the most important trait I look for during earnings season is how the market and a specific company reacts to the news. Remember, always keep your losses small and never argue with the tape.

More:

Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Tesla On Wednesday - Forbes

Editors note: Several years ago The Gazettes Linda Navarro wrote a long-running series on Colorado Springs historical facts and answered questions from readers about what was going on around town. Today were restarting that series with a modern twist.

Teslas Colorado Springs Lab

Nikola Tesla moved to Colorado Springs in 1899 to experiment with electricity, but where was his lab?

Teslas lab has often been depicted in the mountains above Colorado Springs in film, but that was for dramatic effect and is a Hollywood-generated myth.

For example, in the 2005 Christopher Nolan movie The Prestige, in which Tesla is played by David Bowie, he has a mountain laboratory overlooking Colorado Springs.

Tesla, born in modern-day Croatia, was best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.

According to the Pikes Peak Library District video Tracing Tesla: The Search of his Lost Laboratory, the lab was on top of a hill near East Kiowa Street and North Foote Avenue. It was between the Union Printers Home and the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.

Somewhat surprisingly, there is nothing marking the site although there is a plaque nearby in Memorial Park noting its general location. The area is now residential and is a short walk north from the park.

The World Series MVP stationed at Fort Carson

Colorado Springs has had its share of celebrity visitors.

From presidents giving speeches to actors taking on the Manitou Incline, seeing the occasional famous face isnt unheard of. But one famous athletes time in Colorado Springs was truly unique.

New York Yankees legend Billy Martin was drafted into the Army in 1954 and after basic training was stationed at Fort Carson, which at the time was called Camp Carson.

The Yankees second baseman was in the prime of his playing career and had been the MVP of the 1953 World Series, leading teammates Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra to New Yorks fifth consecutive world championship. At Fort Carson, Martin would march, go on grueling training missions, perform kitchen patrol duty and was eventually assigned to run the post gym and manage the baseball team.

During his stint at Fort Carson, which spanned the majority of his 22 months of Army service, Martin batted over .500 and his Army teams finished 25-4.

In August 1955, Martin was given a 30-day furlough and rejoined the Yankees. He hit .300 in 20 games and would again lead New York to the World Series, where they eventually lost to the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Martin would return to Fort Carson and would eventually be given an honorable discharge and left the Army as a corporal with a good conduct medal, ironic considering his well-known temper.

Martin would write about his Army service in two autobiographies. He passed away on Dec. 25, 1989.

Hollywood icons link to a Colorado Springs school

Many know that silent film star Lon Chaney, renowned for his work in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera, is from Colorado Springs.

What you might not know is his connection to the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.

Chaneys maternal grandparents, John and Mary Kennedy, had three children, all of whom were born with impaired hearing.

John Kennedy would establish what would become the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind with a $5,000 appropriation from the Colorado Territorial Legislature and land donated by Gen. Palmers Colorado Springs Co. in 1874.

Chaney stayed connected to the school and in 1925 even held a special screening of The Phantom of the Opera for students.

Have a question about Colorado Springs or its history? Know something interesting about the history of Colorado Springs? Send questions, comments and suggestions to terry.terrones@gazette.com with Column Question in the subject line to avoid spam.

See the rest here:

Tesla's Colorado Springs lab and a World Series MVP stationed at Fort Carson | Did You Ever Wonder - Colorado Springs Gazette

A customer looks at a Tesla Model X electric vehicle at a Tesla store.

Love is blind. Its official well, unofficial that true love enables car owners to overlook a lot of faults.

The Tesla all-electric-vehicle brand is Exhibit A.

According to J.D. Power, the very same people who rated Tesla the (unofficial) No. 1 in the 2020 J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study released this week, also rated Tesla dead last (also unofficially) in the recent J.D. Power Initial Quality Study.

Insiders sometimes refer to the APEAL study as things gone right. The IQS Study measures things gone wrong. There are other brands in the past Mini is an example that inspired love with the overall concept, despite irritation at things gone wrong.

But this years Tesla results appear to be the first time the same brand has been No. 1 in APEAL, and in last place in IQS. More on why the scores are unofficial, later. Tesla has had well-documented quality problems ramping up production, as demand increased. The good news is, demand increased.

So, do people love, or hate their Teslas? Mostly love them, said Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power, in a webinar. He cited performance, which is auto industry-speak for get-up-and-go-fast.

Electric vehicles are fast from a standing start, because electric motors have lots of torque, the twisting power that drives the wheels. Thats one of the reasons New York subway trains have electric motors, so they can get up to speed quickly between stations.

Its largely driven by performance. The infotainment system also performs very well. Lots of owners like the styling, Sargent said of Teslas high APEAL score. Owners can sort of look past the fact that they are having quite a few problems with their vehicle but people still love their vehicle.

The Tesla score is unofficial, because its based on results from only 35 states, J.D. Power said. Thats because Tesla withheld its permission for J.D. Power to access state registration data, for 15 states where permission is required.

For anybody who ever wondered how J.D. Power knew they just bought a car, J.D. Power uses state registration data to identify and contact buyers, to ask them to fill out a survey.

The J.D. Power APEAL and IQS surveys are aimed at buyers in their first 90 days of ownership. The same respondents fill out both surveys, plus a third one, the J.D. Power Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study.

Tesla scored 896 in APEAL, J.D. Power announced this week. Porsche got the highest official score, of 881 out of a possible 1,000. It was the 15th time in the last 16 years Porsche won the highest (official) score among luxury brands, which is to say the highest score overall. Interestingly, Porsche was below industry average in the 2020 IQS Study.

Visit link:

Love Is Blind: Tesla Owners Love Their Cars, Despite Their Faults - Forbes

This big boi will be built near Austin, Texas.

Another week has come and gone, Roadshow readers. And while this one wasn't the big Bronco-fest that last week was, Ford's new SUV still had a number of news hits, not to mention big headlines from Tesla and a few important road tests.

Here's a look back at what you might've missed from July 19-25.

Toyota's Venza is back, and this time around, it's a hybrid-only midsize crossover that's luxurious enough inside to give Lexus vehicles a run for their money.

Click here to read our 2021 Toyota Venza first drive.

We've been super-excited about the Polestar 2 ever since it was announced, and we've now had our first crack at the electric sedan in the UK. It's got Google infotainment and a solid foundation. Could this Swedish entry pull buyers away from the Tesla Model 3?

Click here to read our 2021 Polestar 2 first drive.

The old Shelby GT500 might've been all about straight-line speed, but Ford's new halo Mustang has plenty of road course chops that make it quite a star. We hit the road and track to find out more.

Click here to read our 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 review.

Climb in the driver's seat for the latest car news and reviews, delivered to your inbox twice weekly.

Now playing: Watch this: Old Bronco vs. new: Taking a look at how the Bronco has...

5:05

We take a look at how the new Bronco SUV stacks up to its predecessor -- from 1971.

Now playing: Watch this: The 2020 Porsche Cayenne GTS brings back its V8 soundtrack...

12:37

Come with our Carfection team as we take a look at the V8-powered Porsche Cayenne GTS.

Read more:

Tesla goes to Texas, 2021 Toyota Venza tested and more: Roadshow's week in review - CNET

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla

From nearly bankrupt to the worlds most valuable company. In a day.

In 2008, Volkswagen (VOW) was barely holding up. One of Germanys largest automakers was head over heels in debt. And as the Great Recession swept the world, its auto sales crashed to the ground. But then something unexpected happened.

On October 26, 2008, out of the blue, Volkswagen stock shot up a jaw-dropping 82%briefly becoming the worlds most valuable company. Later it crashed 95% and never recovered, wiping out most investors in the process.

What happened here was a market phenomenon called a short squeeze. And as Ill explain, the same thingjust in bigger proportionsis at play with Tesla TSLA (TSLA). But in Teslas case, it also has an absurd side effect that may be the real driver of Teslas historic rally.

In plain English, heres what a short squeeze is

Say youve got a $1,500 balance at Robinhood, or any other broker. And you want to bet against stock X whose price is $1,000.

You sell the stock by borrowing a share worth $1,000 from your broker. Now, there are two scenarios: the stock goes up or the stock goes down.

If the stock goes down, you return the share at a lower price and cash in the difference. But if the stock goes up, you have to buy the share and return it to the brokerno matter the price.

In the latter scenario, your downside is unlimited. And the broker wants to be sure youve got the money to return the share.

So if you have $1,500 in your balance and the price of X hits, say, $1,500, the broker will ask you to deposit more money (or add margin to your account). If you dont have the money, the broker will force you to buy and return the share at $1,500.

Problems begin when this happens on a bigger scale. You see, when lots of short sellers are forced to exit the trade and buy the stock all at once, the puffed up demand pushes the stock price up.

The higher stock price wipes out even more short sellers, which in turn drives the stock price even higher. This repeats again and again, sending the stock price to bananas levels. And this vicious cycle is what we call a short squeeze.

Tesla is Americas most hated (shorted) stock

Tesla is now the most valuable car company in the world.The stock is worth more than triple the combined value of US automakers General Motors (GM GM ) and Ford (F). Its insane given that these two automakers generated 10 times more sales than Tesla last year.

No surprise Tesla has lured in a record number of investors who are betting against itmaking it Americas most shorted stock. But what's really surprising here is the scale.

The dollar value of all shorted Tesla shares is close to hitting $20 billion. No US stock in history has ever been that shorted.

For perspective, Apple AAPL , the second-most shorted stock in America, has 13 billion dollars worth of its shares shorted. But as you may know, the company is 14 times bigger than Tesla.

The sheer magnitude of short sellers put Tesla at risk of being caught in a short squeeze of historic proportions. And one likely was triggered at the end of last year.

Short sellers have been buying Tesla stock en masse

On October 23 2019, Tesla reported a profitable quarter, blowing away analysts who expected losses. In the next two days, Tesla stock popped 31%which likely triggered a chain of short squeezes that exist to this day.

Look at the chart below (and take a careful look because it may be the most important chart about Tesla right now). It shows how the number of shorted Tesla shares fell off the cliff as Tesla stock was roaring higher:

Tesla's short interest fell three times as Tesla stock soared

While Tesla stock soared 340% in the past year, its short interest fell three times. That means short sellers were forced to buy tens of millions of Tesla shares during this past yearand that surely played a part in Teslas historic rally.

You dont have to work on Wall Street to understand this

Stock prices come down to supply and demand. If there are more buyers than sellers, the stock price rises. And vice versa.

So lets run the numbers. Short sellers were forced to buy ~38 million shares over the past year. Thats 20% of all Tesla shares available to the public.

Which is a lot, but by itself wouldn't move the stock to such highs. You need much bigger demand.

Another suspect for bidding up Tesla stock is institutional investors. These are the heavyweights of the market: investment banks, pension funds, hedge funds, insurance companies. They manage trillions of dollars and own ~80% of the entire stock market.

According to Nasdaq NDAQ data, institutional investors hold 74% of all Tesla shares available to the public. If they make a move, you can be sure the stock price reacts like a water droplet on a hot pan. But the heavyweights haven't been much into Tesla lately.

According to Fidelity data, in Q4 2019 they bought only 1.8 million Tesla shares net. During that time, short sellers bought nearly 10 million sharesfives time more than the markets biggest buyer.

In Q1 2020, when Tesla soared 400%, institutional investors were offloading Tesla stock in droves. They sold 4.4 million shares. Meanwhile, according to Nasdaq, short sellers bought another 10 million shares.

So if its not short sellers (by themselves) and the heavyweights that are driving Tesla stock to the moon, who is?

Short sellers likely triggered mania

Tesla has long had the rep of a cult stock. But a chain of short squeezes could have turned it into outright mania.

Think about it, Tesla comes out with great news. The stock budges higher than expected. Caught in a short squeeze, short sellers buy the stock in bulk, driving it up by double digits. Minds are blown. Tesla is all over the news, which leads to this:

Reddit thread about Tesla (TSLA)

And this:

Reddit thread about Tesla (TSLA)

In other words, a tsunami wave of individual investors pile in, pushing the stock even higher. Short sellers are caught off guard again. The chain of short squeezes continues to propel Teslas price even higher.

Once again, Tesla is flashing all over the headlines further fueling the mania. Rinse and repeat.

But now that more and more short sellers are getting wiped out, Teslas short squeeze may be coming to an end. And without its biggest driver, Tesla stock may soon lose steam.

Still, I wouldnt call this the top yet. Momentum is a powerful force that could last longer than sanity can hold out. Not to mention Tesla might soon be added to the S&P 500, yet another catalyst that could drive the stock even higher.

Originally posted here:

Tesla Stock May Be Rallying For This Absurd ReasonAnd This Wont End Well - Forbes

That shutdown caused Tesla to slash its workforce in Buffalo from 1,834 workers in early March to 474 by the end of April a figure that included an undisclosed number of employees who were on furlough.

At the same time, Tesla's partner in the Buffalo factory, Panasonic, is moving ahead with its plans to stop manufacturing solar panels at the South Park Avenue facility, throwing more than 375 of the Japanese company's workers out of a job. Panasonic is scheduled to auction off much of the equipment it used in its portion of the Buffalo factory next week.

The downturn in Tesla's solar energy business comes after the company's executives had expressed hope last year that it was poised to reverse its years-long decline and start growing again.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Tesla had predicted that its solar energy deployments would rise by 50% this year, breaking a steep and prolonged decline since the electric vehicle maker acquired the business from SolarCity in November 2016.

Since then, Tesla has cut prices on its conventional rooftop solar to $1.49 per watt, which the company said is about a third less than the industry average. The price cut reduced the payback period to six years on a large rooftop system in California, which requires rooftop solar on all new construction. A 4-kilowatt rooftop solar system now costs a little more than $6,000 after federal incentives.

See original here:

Tesla's solar energy business takes a beating during the pandemic - Buffalo News

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been one of the market's best performers since its IPO, but it's one stock I've never been able to get myself to buy. And now that shares are trading over $1,500, it may not ever make it into my portfolio.

As we stand today, I think the market is looking at Tesla incorrectly, and that's why I see it as being extremely overvalued. It's being priced as if it's a technology stock, but it doesn't have any characteristics of typical tech stocks. And I don't see that changing.

Image source: Tesla.

Technology stocks have been enormous winners for investors who have picked the right companies over the last few decades, and there's a big reason for that. If a company is built correctly, it can spend money on research and product development to build a technology, and then sell it over and over and over for a very low marginal cost for each incremental customer.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) uses this to its advantage with Windows and Microsoft Office, which it spent hundreds of millions of dollars to develop but then was able to sell millions of times over to nearly every PC user in the world. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) is doing something similar on the Internet, developing valuable technology and a search engine and then allowing users and advertisers to use the platform billions of times per year, capturing small amounts of revenue each time. The common thread here is that the marginal cost of the next incremental user is very small, and therefore the profit margin of each incremental user is very high.

TSLA Gross Profit Margin (Quarterly) data by YCharts.

Tesla's business doesn't act like this at all. It looks and acts a lot more like a manufacturing company because that's what it is. The next customer buying a Model 3 vehicle, for example, may generate a gross margin of around 25% for Tesla if the company is operating efficiently. But it isn't approaching typical incremental tech margins of 70%, 80%, or more.

There also isn't significant recurring revenue in Tesla vehicles, which is very common for technology companies. Once you become a Microsoft user, for example, it's likely that your next device will be another Microsoft product. And given the life span of technology products, that can be recurring revenue every two to three years. At a company like Google, once you become a user, Google can generate value from you nearly every day.

Tesla gets all of its revenue up front, and if its vehicles are high quality, they'll last users (original owners or used-car buyers) for decades.

Despite the fact that Tesla isn't really a technology stock, it's priced like one. It trades for a higher price-to-sales ratio than Alphabet and Facebook and near that of Microsoft.

TSLA PS Ratio data by YCharts.

The implication is that Tesla is expected to grow rapidly and generate high profits. But it hasn't shown the ability to generate consistent profits, and in a capital intensive business that's very competitive, I question if the extraordinary profits will ever come.

Just because I don't see Tesla as a technology company in transportation, does it mean there aren't transportation companies that won't look a lot like tech stocks? Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) are examples of companies where a technology platform can be used over and over with very little marginal cost for serving the next incremental customer. The problem with their platforms is that they don't own the vehicles and have to pay drivers in the relatively low-margin ridesharing space.

If we think about what the future of transportation looks like, Uber and Lyft are good models of using technology in transportation. But they've even struggled with high costs because they have to pay thousands of drivers across the country.

Tech's disruption of transportation will really come when autonomous ride-hailing platforms are introduced. This is what General Motors (NYSE:GM) is building with the Cruise Origin, and we know Uber and Lyft are eyeing driverless solutions as well.

GM's Cruise Origin picks up passengers. Image source: Cruise.

Tesla is building autonomous driving technology, but it's far from an industry leader in the space since its vehicles do not adapt well to fully autonomous ridesharing solutions.

I don't think the value in transportation companies becoming technology companies will come in increasing their manufacturing capacity the way Tesla has over the last few years. It will be found in leveraging a platform of technology and ridesharing vehicles to attract the largest user base to serve with rides over and over again.

I have to admit that Tesla has built an extremely valuable business if we compare it with the old model of doing business in auto manufacturing. Eliminating the dealer model, building a fully electric platform, and adding in the supercharger network has created a lead that legacy companies may not be able to catch up to.

But as I look at the value of Tesla stock and think about what transportation will look like when my three-year-old son reaches driving age, I wonder if he will be driving at all. I find it more likely that in an urban area, he'll simply request a ride from any number of ridesharing platforms on an app, and within minutes the driver of this vehicle -- if there even are drivers by then -- will show up at his front door.

At the end of the day, transportation as a service is more of a typical technology business than manufacturing cars is. And if the market is going to keep giving Tesla a technology-level valuation, I guess I'll stay out of the stock.

Here is the original post:

The Reason I Havent Bought Tesla Stock - Motley Fool

If one thing transpired out of Teslas (TSLA) Q2 earnings, its that Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants more nickel and talented people at the automaker.

Considering that Tesla was able to maintain strong deliveries amid a global pandemic, talks of demand issues are starting to surface, and analysts are starting to look at production constraints again.

As usual, Musk pointed to battery cell supply as the main production constraint for Tesla.

Musk brought up an interesting new strategy from Tesla to help manage battery supply with LFP iron phosphate batteries.

We previously reported that Tesla is introducing a new version of the Model 3 in China with LFP batteries.

During Teslas Q2 2020 earnings call, Musk explained that Tesla believes its improves efficiency enough that it is able to use less energy-dense LFP batteries in some vehicles and still achieve a decent range.

This approach is going to free up some energy-dense nickel-based Li-ion battery cells for Teslas other vehicle programs, which has so far only used Li-ion cells with nickel as the primary material.

Musk argued that if theres going to be a raw material constraint, its going to be nickel.

On the call, he pleaded with mining companies to increase their nickel production:

Well, Id just like to re-emphasize, any mining companies out there, please mine more nickel. Okay. Wherever you are in the world, please mine more nickel and dont wait for nickel to go back to some long some high point that you experienced some five years ago, whatever. Go for efficiency, obviously environmentally friendly nickel mining at high volume. Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time, if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way. So hopefully this message goes out to all mining companies. Please get nickel.

The CEO is trying to convince nickel miners to not try to control supply in order to increase the price, but to instead focus on more efficient higher volume production.

Along with the need for more nickel, Musk also emphasized the need for Tesla to secure more talent in manufacturing and engineering.

He brought up the need for talent several times during the call.

Tesla SVP of engineering Drew Baglino also added:

Adding to what you said earlier about talent and people the same goes in all areas of cell, supply chain, manufacturing materials, design. We are solving this problem. And were treating it like any other problem that we have solved. We will solve this problem, and we want talented people to join us as we solve these problems.

The amount of hiring Tesla is going to have to do in the next few years is hard to overstate.

Between growing production at its current facilities, Tesla is going to have to hire tens of thousands of people at its new Gigafactories in Germany and Texas.

Musk said that he was particularly concerned about Gigafactory Berlin due to stricter restrictions regarding non-compete clauses.

The capacity of attracting top talent is one of Teslas best competitive advantages.

Ben Schaffer, president ofUnplugged Performance, had a very interesting perspective on it.

He said that despite Tesla having a high turnover rate, the cycle of talent at Tesla is helping the automaker get new ideas and absorb expertise.

There are a lot of talented engineers in the world, and most of them want to work at Tesla and for Elon, who Shaffer describes as the best engineer in the world.

Schaffer told me:

Its a magnetic effect and the magnet is Elon, the worlds most brilliant engineer. That, and Teslas mission, which is solving the worlds biggest problem.

He believes in Teslas ability to keep attracting top talent, and even if they dont stay for long, Tesla and even Elon himself are absorbing a lot of their knowledge and using it long after theyre gone.

Its also not to say that the people are disposable, but its an interesting perspective to look at it as a cycle.

As for nickel, it sounds like Tesla is looking for miners willing to sign long-term contracts.

I wouldnt be surprised if Tesla ends up partnering with some junior miners who would be more willing to lock themselves into long-term contracts in order to secure financing on new mining projects.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.

See more here:

Tesla (TSLA): Elon Musk wants more nickel and more good employees - Electrek

Well, at least he's got a good reason for that sour expression.

When it comes to electric car technology, Tesla is well ahead of basically every other manufacturer. The public seems to know it, we in the media know it, and apparently, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann knows it too, according to a report published Friday by Automotive News.

In the report, Duesmann concedes that Audi is at least two years behind the Big T when it comes to computing power in its vehicles as well as in self-driving technology, none of which is terribly surprising given that Audi has only been pushing super-hard toward electrification for the last five years or so. It's just shocking to see a car company CEO say it publicly.

Subscribe to the Roadshow newsletter, receive notifications and see related stories on CNET.

"Currently, Tesla has larger batteries because their cars are built around the batteries. Tesla is two years ahead in terms of computing and software architecture, and in autonomous driving as well," said Duesmann, in a statement to Germany's Handelsblatt.

Now, Audi shouldn't get too down on itself because of Tesla's lead in technology. We've spent plenty of time in both the E-Tron SUV and in Teslas of all kinds, and when it comes to things like build quality, Audi feels light years ahead of Tesla. That's one of the benefits of being a "legacy" manufacturer: decades of building cars makes you pretty good at building cars, it turns out.

Duesmann had more to say to Handelsblatt too, this time regarding Audi's sales. He expects the company to be back to pre-COVID numbers of sales by 2022 or 2023. That's a big deal since the company experienced a pretty big sales hit amid all the quarantine efforts worldwide.

Things aren't all doom and gloom though, because while the company only sold 17,000 E-Trons in the first half of 2020, it expects 40,000 units to go to customers by the end of the year.

Now playing: Watch this: 2020 Audi E-Tron: Worse than a Tesla? | Everyone's a...

20:04

View original post here:

Audi CEO admits to being two years behind Tesla in EV tech - CNET

During its second-quarter 2020 earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that Texas will be the location of the company's next Gigafactory. Musk called the location "GigaTexas" and described the plan for it as an ecological paradise with biking and walking trails.

Construction of the factory already started over the past weekend, according to Musk. The location will be where Tesla will build Model 3 and Model Y vehicles bound for the East Coast. The 2000-acre facility will also be home of the Tesla Semi and the upcoming Cybertruck.

For the Fremont, California, factory, that location will continue to build Model S and Model X for worldwide distribution and will likely be the facility that builds the upcoming Tesla Roadster. It'll also be the home of Model 3 and Y vehicles bound for the West Coast.

Musk said that the location near Austin on the Colorado river would be an ecological paradise with walking and biking paths. The location will also be open to the public. During the call Musk said, "Ive never been more optimistic or excited about the future of Tesla."

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.

Originally posted here:

Teslas Next Gigafactory Will Be in Texas - Car and Driver

Tesla Inc. TSLA, -6.34% is attracting "greater levels of enthusiasm" from investors thanks to its "demonstrated and perceived" technological dominance, analyst Adam Jonas at Morgan Stanley said in a note Tuesday. Jonas compared Tesla at $300 billion valuation, a milestone reached last week, with Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.24% at $300 billion, which the Cupertino, Calif., company crossed in early 2011, and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.74% at $300 billion, reached in late 2015. Tesla is a "significantly smaller company" than either companies were at the time, and Tesla's market-cap milestone reflects a "significant valuation premium" compared to when Apple and Amazon reached the same market value, he said. Tesla's revenue is less than half Apple's at the time of the $300 billion milestone, and 70% less than Amazon's at Amazon's market value milestone, Jonas said. Some S&P 500 index's SPX, -0.61% market ratios are higher today, which explains some of the valuation premium for Tesla, he said. Tesla is scheduled to report second-quarter results on Wednesday after the bell, with Wall Street consensus calling for a loss. Some investors, however, remain hopeful the Silicon Valley car maker will surprise markets with a GAAP profit and be on its way to eventually join the S&P 500 index.

See the original post:

Tesla at $300 billion is much smaller company than Apple, Amazon were at that stage, Morgan Stanley says - MarketWatch

TheS&P 500 Index(SNPINDEX:^SPX) kept its winning streak alive, closing up 18.7 points, or 0.57%, on July 22. This marks the seventh consecutive day the index, which makes up about 80% of the market capitalization of all U.S. stocks, has closed higher.

The biggest news driving markets today is the announcement that the U.S. federal government has reached a deal withPfizer(NYSE:PFE) andBioNTech SE(NASDAQ:BNTX) to pay $1.95 billion for 100 million doses of the two companies' jointly developed coronavirus vaccine, if it earns regulatory approval. Pfizer shares gained 5.2% on the news, while the smaller BioNTech's stock surged almost 14% on the day.

The news spurred big gains by other healthcare and related stocks. Welltower (NYSE:HCN),Ventas(NYSE:VTR), andHealthpeak Properties(NYSE:PEAK), REITs -- real estate investment trusts -- that specialize in healthcare and seniors housing properties, shares gained more than 4%. Hospital operator HCA Healthcare(NYSE:HCA) reported earnings this morning, beating expectations and sending its stock up 12%.

Today's biggest S&P 500-related news happened after the bell and came from a company that's not even in the index -- or at least not yet:Tesla(NASDAQ:TSLA). But after reporting a $104 million profit in the second quarter, that's now set to change.

Image source: Getty Images.

Some details about today's deal between Pfizer/BioNTech and the federal government: For $1.95 billion, the two partners will supply 100 million doses to the U.S. Health and Human Services and Department of Defense. The departments also hold the option to buy up to 500 million additional doses, dependent on FDA approval for a coronavirus vaccine candidate from the BNT162 program. According to recent data, there are two candidate drugs in the program, and both have been given fast-track designation by the FDA.

The vaccine candidate designated BNT162b1 is on track to begin phase 2b/3 clinical trials by month-end and would enroll up to 30,000 participants.

This is one of several agreements the government has reached as part of "Operation Warp Speed" to fund accelerated development of a coronavirus vaccine. Prior deals worth nearly $3 billion with other pharmaceutical companies are aimed at both securing hundreds of millions of doses of a successful vaccine and funding development.

While a typical vaccine development takes multiple years to complete because of the necessity of long-term human studies to prevent potential long-term adverse effects, it is expected that the FDA will issue an emergency use authorization for any coronavirus vaccine candidate that shows itself effective and safe much earlier in trials than is typical.

The vaccine news is helping lift shares of other companies in the healthcare business that deal with some of the most at-risk populations. Welltower, Ventas, and Healthpeak all own seniors housing and nursing homes, and seniors have been by far the hardest-hit demographic by COVID-19. The prospects for a fast-tracked vaccine, with the department of Health and Human Services taking a large number of doses, offers some indication that the government plans to make sure at-risk groups, including physicians, nurses, first responders, and seniors, are given priority access.

HomebuilderNVR (NYSE:NVR) reported second-quarter results today. Revenue and earnings were down 10% and 22% from last year -- not surprising with stay-at-home orders all but shutting down construction and sales activity early in the quarter. But even with the negative events that saw order cancellations increase, the company said new home orders increased by 13% in the quarter. Investors bought on those positive numbers for continued strong demand, sending shares up 10% on the day.

Following NVR higher were other S&P 500 homebuildersD.R. Horton(NYSE:DHI),Lennar (NYSE:LEN), andPulteGroup(NYSE:PHM), up between 3% and 5% today.

The technology giant's cloud computing business continues to deliver massive growth. Azure revenue was up 47%, helping drive total revenue up 13% and delivering earnings of $1.46 per share, well above expectations for $1.36 per share.

But the relatively good report was not getting as much favorable attention as the negative implications from a complaint filed with the European Commission by competitorSlack Technologies(NYSE:WORK). In short, Slack alleges that by bundling Teams with its Office suite, Microsoft is unfairly using its scale to force users to install Teams and does not allow it to be removed.

If this sounds familiar to some readers, it's not that different from prior antitrust complaints about Microsoft's bundling of its web browser, Internet Explorer, with Windows in the past.

With $104 million in net income, Tesla was able to check off the last box to gain eligibility for the S&P 500. The automobile, battery, and solar component maker has made a profit in four straight quarters and is likely to gain entry to the index quickly as a result. And it wasn't just a profitable quarter because of some accounting moves: Tesla generated strong free cash flow of $418 million, and finished the quarter with $8.6 billion in cash and equivalents.

Up next for Tesla: Start its second U.S. Gigafactory, continue growing production in Asia, and see what happens when index funds with more than $1trillionunder management have to add Tesla shares to their top-15 holdings.

Read the original here:

S&P 500 News: Tesla's Profit Sets It Up to Join the Index, U.S. to Buy Up to 600 Million Coronavirus Vaccine Doses, Microsoft Earnings Overshadowed -...

Pedestrians wearing protective masks walk past a Microsoft Technology Center in New York, on Wednesday, July 22, 2020.

Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell:

Microsoft Shares of Microsoft dropped 2% in after hours after the company's fourth-quarter earnings beat estimates. The technology company reported earnings of $1.46 per share on revenues of $38.03 billion. Analysts had expected earnings per share of $1.34 on revenues of $36.5 billion, according to Refinitiv. Revenue grew 13% even amid the coronavirus crisis. Earlier today, Slack accused the technology company of anticompetitive practices in an EU complaint.

Las Vegas Sands The resort developer's stock fell 1% in extended trading after the company released financial results from the second quarter. The company missed estimates, reporting a loss of $1.05 per share excluding some items on revenues of $98 million. Refinitiv analysts had expected a loss per share of 74 cents on revenues of $564 million. The company said it will continue capital expenditure programs in both Macao and Singapore.

Tesla The automaker's stock climbed 5% after the market closed. Tesla released second-quarter earnings of$2.18 per share excluding some items on revenues of $6.04 billion while Refinitiv analysts had expected earnings per share of 3 cents on revenues of $5.37 billion. Tesla also reported its first full year of profitability based on GAAP, so the company can now be considered to join the S&P 500 index. Shares of electric vehicle maker NIO also jumped 3% in extended trading.

Whirlpool Shares of Whirlpool rose 3% after the closing bell. The company beat Refinitiv analysts' estimates, posting second-quarter earnings of $2.15 per share excluding some items on revenues of $4.04 billion compared to estimates of earnings per share of $1 on revenues of $3.57 billion.

ChipotleMexican Grill Shares of Chipotle fell 1% in extended trading after the company posted second-quarter earnings. Beating Refinitiv analysts' expectations, Chipotle reported second-quarter earnings of 40 centsper share excluding some items on revenues of $1.36 billion. Analysts had expected earnings per share of 35 cents on revenues of $1.34 billion. The company's reported quarterly adjusted earnings were down 90% from the period a year ago as coronavirus closed restaurant dining rooms. Meanwhile, Chipotle's digital sales more than tripled during the second quarter.

Originally posted here:

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Microsoft, Tesla, Chipotle and more - CNBC

Electrek has discovered a new Tesla secret project called Palladium, and it involves some important updates to the Model S and Model X.

Earlier this year, Electrek exclusively revealed information about Teslas Roadrunner secret project to build its own new battery cells and its own technology to produce them.

Now sources have confirmed to Electrek that Tesla has another secret project codenamed Palladium that is currently being deployed in Fremont factory and Gigafactory Nevada.

Not much is known about the project as Tesla is keeping the information compartmentalized throughout the organization, but Electrek has been able to confirm its existence with several sources.

The project involves building new production lines for updated versions of the Model S and Model X.

Its still unclear how far-reaching the Palladium update is going to be, again due to Tesla keeping the information compartmentalized, but it sounds like it could be significant.

According to people familiar with the matter, the new Palladium update is going to involve new battery modules and drive units that are going to serve as the basis of the upcoming Plaid version of Model S and Model X.

The new powertrain is going to enable a tri-motor configuration for plaid and feature increased performance and efficiency. We dont have the final numbers just yet, but it should be impressive.

Another source told Electrek that it involves more than the powertrain, and one employee even referred to a new Model S and Model X Palladium Body meaning that the new version of the vehicles will have a different body.

When Tesla started testing early prototypes of the Model S Plaid, it did feature some body modifications, but it hasnt been clear whether Tesla plans to bring them to the production version.

Tesla is currently updating production lines in Fremont factory and Nevada as part of the new Palladium project.

The exact timing of the launch is unclear, but it should be ready by the time Tesla holds its battery day in September.

We havent been able to confirm why Tesla codenamed the project Palladium.

Palladium is one of the six platinum-group metals, and the majority of the palladium mined around the world ends up in catalytic converters in car exhausts.

Its unclear if some of the new components in the new Model S and Model X Palladium update use the materials, or it might be a jab at combustion engines who need their emission cleaned up by palladium.

Tesla is like palladium for the entire auto industry?

Also, the price of the material has increased significantly over the last few years, and some have even compared it to the rise of Teslas stock.

In another interesting note, it also sounds like both Roadrunner and Palladium could be related.

For example, the new Palladium Model S and Model X could be the first vehicles in Teslas lineup to receive the new battery cells built by Tesla from the ground up.

New cells, new modules, new motors, and a new body would be some significant updates to Model S and Model X, but Tesla doesnt do car refreshes.

It could also possibly be timed with an interior design update, which Tesla originally planned for last year before being pushed.

Though if those are combined together, it would be hard for Tesla not to call the update a refresh.

Either way, I am glad that Tesla is planning a major update to Model S and Model X who have been somewhat neglected as the flagship vehicles for Tesla.

They received several incremental improvements over the last year, but it does now feel like the cheaper Model 3 and Model Y are the technology leaders for the automaker.

It looks like the Palladium project is going to change that.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.

See the original post:

Tesla secret project Palladium: new Model S and Model X are coming - Electrek

Teslaplans to report its second quarter results on Wednesday after the market closes, and all eyes are on the company's bottom line this period.

That's because a fourth consecutive quarter of reported profitability on a GAAP basis wouldmake Elon Musk's electric car company eligible to join the S&P 500 index.

Speculation has mounted that the company will hit this milestone a full year of reported profitability since Tesla reported a record number of car deliveries earlier in July. Elon Musk fueled the rumors, sending an email to employees implying that there's a chance the company will break even for the quarter.

Shares have jumped more than 50% this month alone adding to the stock's more than threefold increase this year as investors have bet on the company's inclusion, which could mean a sudden jump in demand from passive funds that track the benchmark.

But it's not a done deal. Even if the company does report a fourth consecutive quarter of GAAP profits, there's no guarantee that it will be added to the S&P 500.

The make-up of the S&P 500 is determined by what's known as the "Index Committee" at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Inclusion in the index is based on quantitative as well as qualitative factors.

Companies must be U.S. based, and listed on either the NYSE, the Nasdaq or the Cboe. They also must have a market cap of more than $8.2 billion, and report four straight quarters of profit as determined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Even if a company meets these criteria as well as the other stipulations, however, it still does not guarantee inclusion in the index, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

"The purpose of the index is to emulate the U.S. domestic common market," he said. "When you go to put a company in to actually select it it's got to fit into the algorithm in that it represents the market, it has liquidity, it has size," he added.

The committee meets on a quarterly basis to rebalance the index, and the next meeting is scheduled for the third Friday in September. But Silverblatt said companies can be added or removed from the S&P at any time.

Given the potentially market-moving nature of additions and deletions from the index, the process is tightly guarded. Even companies that are set to be added receive no advance warning.

Silverblatt said that a notice typically goes out at 5:15 pm ET five trading days before a company is set to join the index.

There are particular challenges to adding a company of Tesla's size to the index, since every other component's weighting would subsequently have to be adjusted. Additionally, it would force index investors to sell portions of their other 499 stock holdings to make room for the company.

With a market capitalization of $304 billion, according to FactSet, Tesla is the 12th largest U.S. company, ahead of names like JPMorgan, UnitedHealth and Home Depot. Research firm Baird noted that it would be the largest company ever added to the index.

According to analysis from Credit Suisse, Facebook was the last mega cap company added to the index back in 2013, when it was worth roughly $120 billion.

"Accordingly, it's possible an S&P add may not occur until 2021," the firm said, noting the company's size. "That said, once Tesla becomes eligible, we would expect S&P to see pressure to add Tesla to the index."

Speculation began building that Tesla could turn a profit in the second quarter after vehicle deliveries beat Street expectations. The company delivered 90,650 vehicles in the second quarter the closest approximation of sales numbers reported by Tesla topping the 72,000 number expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Elon Musk himself added to the speculation when he sent an email to employees, which was promptly leaked to the press, urging everyone to "go all out" ahead of the delivery figures' release.

In the email, he also said that "breaking even is looking super tight." It wasn't immediately clear whether he was referring to the company's profit margin or another metric, such as production numbers, but some took it to mean that a second quarter profit was indeed possible.

Despite investor enthusiasm for the stock, which has seen shares nearly quadruple this year, the Street is more tempered ahead of the company's quarterly report. According to estimates compiled by Refinitiv, analysts are expecting the company to report a loss of 11 cents per share, on revenue of $5.233 billion.

"We are cautious into the quarter given recent share appreciation; there is a chance TSLA does not achieve GAAP profitability, which we think would be a significant negative catalyst given current elevated expectations,"Baird analyst Ben Kallo wrote in a recent note to clients. He said that investors should take profits ahead of earnings, while also noting that the company "will likely be added to the S&P 500 index."

It's hard to overstate the recent rally in Tesla shares. Through Monday's close the stock is up 52% in the last month, 292% year to date, and 536% in the last year. The stock has been a favorite among retail investors. Data from Robintrack, which tracks millennial-favored trading app Robinhood, shows that the stock is among the top holdings on the platform.

But given the recent run-up in shares, some investors believe that the stock price is preemptively reflecting inclusion in the S&P 500, and the subsequent flood of new demand.

According toLarry McDonald, editor of The Bear Traps Report, there's around $3.9 trillion of pure index capital tracking the S&P 500. As of Monday morning, per his analysis, Tesla had a free float market cap of $220 billion (this number excludes the 18.38% of the company that Musk owns).

Taking the total S&P market value to be $27.8 trillion, this would give Tesla a 0.8% weighting if it were to join the index. This means that funds tracking the index would need to buy roughly $30 billion worth of Tesla stock.

Not to mention active managers that track the index, as well as individual investors who favor portfolios tied to the S&P 500.

With a potential upcoming buying spree, McDonald believes the recent run is driven not by fundamental strength, but by investors bidding up shares.

"By buying up Tesla TSLA now, front-runners are forcing the S&P Indexes to give the stock a higher and higher weighting," he wrote in a recent note. "Thus, ETFs / Indexes will be forced to pay up, buying even more shares. Then the hot money exits, leaving indexes holding the bag," he said.

While Tesla's rally might be extreme, it's not unusual for stocks to move higher onspeculation about inclusion in the index.

Goldman Sachs analyzed performance for additions to the index going back to 2018, and found that a stock typically rallies 4% in the month leading up to its addition to the index. One month later, however, the stock was down an average of 1%, although still beating the broader market.

- CNBC's Lora Kolodny, Michael Bloom and Nate Rattner contributed reporting.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.

Read the original:

Tesla could soon join the S&P 500 but inclusion isn't automatic, even with a full year of profitability - CNBC