- The electric vehicle sector keeps buzzing along as SPAC deals and IPOs help pour fresh money into technology and development.
- The EV push continues to expand globally. In what could be a significant development, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk says it is quite likely the company will have a plant in India if it is successful in its bid to begin sales with imported vehicles and sees tariff relief.
- Musk notes import duties in India are the highest in the world by far of any large country and says it is inconsistent with the nation's climate goals for clean energy vehicles to be treated the same as diesel or petrol vehicles.
- The upside for Tesla in India is enormous if the EV market takes off. Electric vehicles currently account for less than 1% of new passenger vehicles and two-wheeler sales in India, according to Bloomberg.
- Sector watch: It was a very busy week for Tesla competitors and the EV market as a whole. Lucid Motors (LUCIDM) saw its SPAC deal approved by shareholders and will begin trading on Monday. Faraday Future Intelligent Electric (NASDAQ:FFIE) began trading with a solid gain. Meanwhile, upstart Electric Last Mile Solutions (NASDAQ:ELMS) landed a bull rating from Wedbush Securities on what the firm sees an intriguing EV moat opportunity. Some of the biggest gainers of the week were GreenPower Motor (NASDAQ:GP) +5.1%, XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) +5.1% and Fisker (NYSE:FSR) +3.9%. Meanwhile, Full Truck Alliance (NYSE:YMM) fell 36.9% to a post-IPO low and Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ:RIDE) peeled off 12.4%.
- Tesla's earnings report will dominate the discussion in the EV sector during the first half of the week ahead. Read Seeking Alpha's latest Catalyst Watch for a peek at what else to expect next week.