Tesla stock rebounds, EV maker announces Shanghai factory Q4 ramp-up
Tesla stock (TSLA) rebounded on Monday along with the broader market as President Trump downplayed his recent tough talk on China. But Tesla is also making some waves in China.
As reported by Reuters, Tesla vice president Tao Lin posted on Weibo that Tesla’s Shanghai gigafactory began its fourth quarter production ramp-up. Typically, Q4 is Tesla’s biggest quarter in terms of deliveries, and Shanghai is its largest assembly facility by volume, as it supports mainland China and other regions of the world.
Confirmation that production is ramping up at Tesla’s largest facility is a shot in the arm for the electric vehicle maker as concerns grow over demand issues and increased competition in Asia and greater Europe.
Tesla stock gained over 5% on Monday.
In China, Tesla sales in September were strong. Per CNEVPost, Tesla sold 71,525 vehicles in the month, its second-highest monthly total this year behind March’s 74,127 tally, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). September’s total was a 25% jump from August, though sales were down less than 1% year over year.
Tesla’s EV market share climbed slightly to 8.66% from 8.33%, CPCA said. Powering some of those gains is the new Model YL, Tesla’s larger Model Y variant for the Chinese market.
The three-row, six-seat Model YL launched in August with deliveries starting in early September. The new six-seater allows Tesla to compete in the larger EV SUV segment in China.
The boost in the YL could be seen in Tesla’s China-made Model Y wholesale figures (which include exports), which jumped 17% to 59,000 units in September.
Growing enthusiasm in China, strong Q3 delivery numbers, and the booming artificial intelligence trade sent Tesla shares soaring over 30% last month. The question is whether Tesla can maintain that momentum heading into the fall, when the loss of the federal EV tax credit will likely blunt sales in the US.
As with Tesla, fundamentals don’t really matter when it comes to stock moves.
Tesla is the “OG Meme stock,” according to Barclays’ Dan Levy, and its legion of retail investors keeps it that way.
“There is a very robust retail following driving it. In many ways, we’ve said the fundamentals just don’t matter. That’s why the stock trades at a nonsensical P/E multiple,” Levy said on CNBC. “There are other technical factors driving it, including ‘Mag 7’ relative performance and option activity, which matter more than the typical fundamentals.”
Tesla will give investors another reason to buy (or sell) the stock when it reports earnings after the bell on Oct. 22.
Pras Subramanian is Lead Auto Reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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