06 Jan 2020 | Tesla Shorts Lose $8 Billion Betting Against EVs

Episode 659,   Jan 06, 2020, 01:00 AM

Tesla Surpasses 2019 Goal And Delivers 367,500 Electric Vehicles | Tesla's Car Shipments Grew By 50 Percent Last Year | Tesla’s Market Cap Is Now Double Fords | Tesla Short Sellers Have Lost $8 Billion | Tesla Turns To Israel For Cutting-Edge Tech | Electric Vehicles Are A One-Horse Race In USA | Tesla Model Y Is Now Available To Order In China | Fisker To Sell Ocean SUV For $37,499 | 56% Of Norway’s New Cars Had A Plug In 2019 | EQC Struggles In Germany

Show #659

 

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 6th January 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story to save you time.

 

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Tesla surpasses 2019 goal and delivers 367,500 electric vehicles

"Tesla  said Friday that it delivered 367,500 electric vehicles in 2019 — 50% more than the previous year — a record-breaking figure largely supported by sales of the cheaper Model 3." reported TechCrunch: "          More than one-third of those deliveries — about 112,000 vehicles — occurred in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter caps a year that started poorly for Tesla. The company delivered just 63,000 vehicles in the first quarter, nearly a one-third drop from the previous period. The low first-quarter delivery numbers signaled what was to come: wider-than-expected loss of $702 million driven by disappointing delivery numbers, costs and pricing adjustments to its vehicles. However, the company then rebounded, delivering 95,200 vehicles in the second quarter and 97,000 electric vehicles in the third quarter."

 

https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/03/tesla-surpasses-2019-goal-and-delivers-367500-electric-vehicles/

 

CNBC noted that it has very little stock waiting to find a buyer because they sell more than they make: "Investors were also watching production numbers. In the second and third quarters of 2019, Tesla delivered more cars than it produced. The production versus deliveries gap widened in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, Tesla manufactured 96,155 vehicles and delivered 97,000 vehicles. In the fourth quarter, it manufactured 104,891 vehicles and delivered 112,000. Earlier this week, Musk made personal appearances at the company’s Fremont car plant and delivery center to cheer on employees and Tesla fans who volunteered to deliver cars to customers ahead of the year-end deadline. Customers who received their cars in 2019 qualified for an $1,875 tax credit. But if the car was ordered in 2019, and delivered in 2020, they would not qualify."

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/03/tesla-tsla-4q-2019-production-and-delivery-numbers.html

 

Tesla's car shipments grew by 50 percent last year

"That trend should continue as Tesla begins delivering the first Model 3s made in its Shanghai Gigafactory 3. It says the factory has already produced nearly 1,000 customer salable cars, and it has demonstrated a production run-rate capability of more than 3,000 units per week -- excluding local battery pack production." says Engadget: "Tesla also plans to manufacture its Model Y crossovers at the plant, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously said he expects the Model Y to outsell the S, X and 3 combined.”

 

https://www.engadget.com/2020/01/03/tesla-2019-delivered-model-3

 

Tesla’s market cap is now double Fords

"TSLA ended the first week of 2020 above $443 per share. Tesla’s market capitalization is now about $80 billion, more than double that of Ford’s, at $37 billion." notes Quartz: "Tesla’s market cap first exceeded Ford’s in April 2017. The two companies started out 2018 at about the same place, with Ford valued at $52 billion and Tesla at $54 billion. Tesla has mostly been in the lead since. Ford’s market cap last eclipsed Tesla’s in April 2019, after the venerable automaker turned out a good first quarter. Now, Tesla is clearly leaving Ford behind. Investors have reasons to be optimistic. Tesla delivers far more electric cars than any other brand. Its Model 3 is the most popular electric car in the world, selling three times the number of the second most popular model, China’s BAIC EU-Series, in the first 11 months of 2019."

 

https://qz.com/1779609/teslas-market-cap-is-now-more-than-double-fords/

 

Tesla short sellers have lost $8 billion

"In the last seven months, short positions on Tesla shares have lost $8.4 billion, according to S3 Partners, a financial analytics firm." says CNN.com: "That's more than the short losses on any other company. The second biggest loss for short sellers came at Apple shares, where they lost just under $6 billion in the same period. But Apple (AAPL) is a much larger company and the short positions on it are much, much smaller than those on Tesla (TSLA). Short selling accounts for about 21% of Tesla stock sales currently, compared to about 1% of Apple shares. Short sellers bet that the price of a stock is likely to go down. If it rises before they can cash out their position, they must buy shares at the higher price to cover their bet. Their losses are theoretically unlimited, and often astronomical. Some short sellers have retreated from their positions on Tesla in recent months. About 36% of its shares were being sold short in May, but many Tesla shorts continue to hold on, convinced the market will turn against the upstart electric automaker, especially as established automakers flood the market with their own electric vehicles."

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/04/investing/tesla-short-losses/index.html

 

Tesla Turns To Israel For Cutting-Edge Tech

"Tesla Motors is setting up a Research and Development office in Israel to capitalize on the country's penchant for birthing innovative startups." according to CarBuzz: "For now, the office will focus on scouting for local startups and technologies that could help strengthen Tesla's future products, representing the automaker in talks and information exchanges with Israeli companies, Globes reports. In the future, however, the office could grow into something more like Tesla's Palo Alto, California R&D office, employing several dozen engineers and working directly with the Palo Alto office."

 

https://carbuzz.com/news/tesla-turns-to-israel-for-cutting-edge-tech

 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE A ONE-HORSE RACE IN USA

"2019 was a year to forget for the Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan Leaf, with deliveries dropping 8.9% and 16%, respectively." says Bloomberg: "And what of those pricey European models that are supposed to challenge Elon Musk? Porsche is just starting to sell the much-hyped Taycan and handed over the first 130 units in December. Audi sold 746 of its all-electric e-tron crossovers and tallied just 5,369 units for the year. Jaguar was even further behind, delivering 2,594 I-Pace SUVs. To give Musk a more-serious run for his money, automakers are probably going to need models with longer range before plugging in and charging. Even then, the controversial chief executive officer may still have a leg up by building an allure around the company. “Perhaps Tesla’s best asset is its brand,” Joe Spak, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a report Friday. “Many consumers are evangelical about their vehicles.”"

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-03/tesla-s-model-3-is-the-only-ev-doing-serious-volume-in-the-u-s

 

Tesla Model Y Is Now Available To Order In China

"Today, we saw a report that Tesla made the Model Y available for order in China, although the production info says "2021." according to Mark at InsideEVs: "The online design studio includes three Long Range versions (just like in the U.S.), although the estimated prices of cars are significantly higher than in the U.S.  It might change when Tesla adds an option for a locally produced Model Y at the Gigafactory 3 (at least the Standard Range Plus version)."

 

Tesla Model Y estimated prices in China:

 

Rear-wheel drive:

Long Range (540 km/335.6 miles WLTP): 444,000 yuan ($63,742)

All-wheel drive:

Long Range (505 km/313.9 miles WLTP): 488,000 yuan ($70,059)

Performance (480 km/298.3 miles WLTP): 535,000 yuan ($76,807)

 

https://insideevs.com/news/391049/tesla-model-y-available-for-order-china/

 

Fisker to sell Ocean SUV for $37,499

"Fisker finally gave the world a good look at its electric SUV at an event in Los Angeles on Sunday — and, for some reason, there was karaoke. " reports Mashable: "The Ocean will cost $37,499 in the United States, or $29,999 after tax credits. That would put it in the same league as the Tesla Model 3, which starts at $35,000. Fisker says the car will have a range of up to 300 miles on a single charge.  Henrik Fisker, revealed that the car's heads-up display will include the ability to show karaoke lyrics.  Fisker says the Ocean will ship to customers in 2022. Of course, as Tesla's production woes demonstrated, these things don't always go according to plan."

 

"The order books are open now through the Fisker mobile app or the company's website, with a requisite $250 reservation fee. The $250 initial cost applies to both the full-purchase option and the lease deal, the latter of which costs $379 per month, with $2,999 due at signing." writes Roadshow by CNET: "Exact performance details are still TBD, but Fisker says the Ocean will be powered by an approximately 80-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The company is targeting an electric driving range of somewhere between 250 and 300 miles. Fisker says it has global manufacturing capacity across the United States, China and Europe, and the company projects it'll build more than 1 million vehicles between 2022 and 2027. The Ocean's platform will soon go on to underpin two additional Fisker products, which will be detailed in the coming years."

 

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/fisker-ocean-pricing-ces-2020/

 

56% of Norway’s new cars had a plug in 2019

"Electric cars continue to dominate in Norway, as 2019 saw EV sales rise to 42.4%, up from 31.2% in 2018, according to OFV.  This represents almost a 1/3 increase in EV sales from year to year." writes Electrek: "Adding in plug-in hybrid sales, about 56% of Norway’s new car sales in 2019 had a plug. Sales numbers were buoyed by a record year for Tesla, whose Model 3 was the most popular car in Norway in 2019.Tesla Model 3 was the most popular single model in the country, dethroning the Nissan Leaf which led in 2018.  The Model 3 itself had an 11% market share in Norway, with 15,683 vehicles sold.  This is over 50% more than the second-place VW Golf."

 

https://ww.electrek.co/2020/01/03/56-norway-cars-plug-in-2019-tesla-model-3-best-overall/

 

EQC STRUGGLES IN GERMANY

"Daimler, for one, seems to be struggling in its home court, selling only 55 units of the its first all-electric SUV, the once-deemed “Tesla Killer” Mercedes-Benz EQC, since it was released in Germany." says Teslarati: "German publication Welt noted that the veteran car manufacturer is hesitant to reveal information about the EQC’s sales, but data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) revealed that there were only 19 units of the SUV that were sold in November 2019. Since the vehicle was released in the country, registrations for the vehicle have only numbered 55."

 

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-killer-mercedes-benz-eqc-flops-germany/

 

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

The MYEV.com Question Of The Week…

 

What are your 2020 Predictions?

 

Mine… EV values will continue to rise. Mainstream press will start to take Tesla seriously. Tesla Battery day will unveil their roadmap to 600 miles of range. Queues at chargers will increase as the less tech-savvy buy EVs.

 

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