📈 $TSLA Stock Update
On August 28th after the trading floor closed, Tesla distributed a dividend of four additional shares of common stock for each share being held. After a record breaking stock run Tesla’s market cap shot up to $409 billion last weekend. Not only was this boost caused by stock splits, but also with the hype surrounding the EV company’s upcoming Battery Day, which will be held on September 22nd.
Investors anticipate another boost in stocks around the time of Tesla’s event, rumors of topics to be discussed, include a possible re-design of future cars and batteries with longer range capacities. The rumors have certainly piqued my interest and I’m looking forward to seeing what else might be covered at the big event. Stay tuned, after the event I plan to cover it in a later issue.
EV Truck Sales Expected to Increase to Over 54,000 by 2025
The race is on for modern commercial transport. Studies in 2019 show that there were approximately 2000 trucks used in transport in the USA. If these growth rates are maintained, analysts predict that we could see that number climb to approximately 54,000 in only five short years.
A factor driving these numbers are financial breaks that save industries on existing costs, not to mention potential government incentives to help promote a cleaner environment. A major challenge at the moment is a lack of charging locations for big EV’s, however this could mean a boost in construction industries focused on building infrastructure for a greener future.
A Company Hacked Tesla’s Performance Package
About two weeks ago, a company by the name of Ingenext released a software upgrade for the Tesla Model 3 (Dual Motor model only) called Boost 50. Tesla sells this upgrade at a price of $2000 USD, which gives the vehicle around 50 more horsepower and reduces the amount of time required to go from 0-60 mph. Ingenext’s upgrade sits at a discounted price point of $1433 See it here: Boost 50 Upgrade
Tesla has since patched the hack with the most recent software update, but following the patch Ingenext built a new module to go around Tesla’s patch. It looks like this could be an ongoing back and forth issue for the EV giant. I am curious to see how sustainable this would be for Ingenext if they have to adapt to each Tesla update?
Rivian Goes Offroad
The Rivian R1T, an all electric 4x4 truck built to drive off road, will be the first electric truck to compete in an event known as the Rebelle Rally. This ten day event is hosted in the states of California and Nevada, and covers over 1200 miles of desert, rock, and sand dunes. Each vehicle has two people assigned to it, a driver and a navigator. They use GPS checkpoints to avoid getting lost and good driving skills to make their way through the ranks. This event will be a good way to see if this electric truck holds up to what Rivian says it was built for. Check out the specs here: Rivian R1T
🏗 Giga Berlin Going Up
Giga Berlin, Tesla’s German plant is currently under construction and aiming for production in 2021. During a meeting in the past week, Germany’s economic minister, Peter Altmaier promised support in any way possible to help expedite the process. While visiting the construction site, Elon Musk quoted “There’s an army coming” referring to a large crowd of supporters making their way toward him while cheering him on. What is interesting is, despite BMW’s German roots, Tesla is almost twice as big as BMW with twice the amount of margins according to analysts. The question now is, what is BMW doing keep up with Tesla?
Thanks for reading the first issue of EV Shakeout. If you have questions or want to chat I would love to connect with you. Drop me a line at my inbox 📥 or connect with me on Twitter.
Best,
Joshua