Why Tesla stock put pedal to metal today

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock is enjoying what feels like a rare “up” day Monday morning, as investors parse some confusing news. Last week Reuters reported that Tesla has abandoned its plans to build a Model 2 electric car priced at less than $25,000, in order to focus its efforts on building “robotaxis” instead.

CEO Elon Musk quickly dismissed the rumor on social media platform X, saying Reuters was “lying.”

But Tesla stock still took a hit on Friday, falling nearly 4%. Today, however, Tesla is winning back its losses — and more — as its stock bounces 4.2% through 10:05 a.m. ET.

Tesla tweets

Citing unnamed sources, Reuters reported last week that Tesla has entirely “canceled” plans to build the Model 2 electric car — which at a rumored price of $25,000 could be key to Tesla’s efforts to compete with low-priced electric cars from China. Musk was quick to dismiss the report in part, but he did seem to endorse the other half of what Reuters was saying — the bit about the robotaxi.

In a tweet following up on Reuters’ article, Musk confirmed that Tesla will announce a new self-driving electric vehicle (EV), which he called his “robotaxi,” on Aug. 8.

Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024

Is Tesla stock a sell?

And that’s really all he said on the matter. So what are investors supposed to make of these dueling Tesla reports, one from a respected news organization quoting inside sources at Tesla, and the other from Tesla’s CEO himself?

Clearly, nothing’s 100% clear right now. But the most likely scenario seems that Tesla has made robotaxis its new top priority, while pouring money into developing a cheap EV is now taking a back seat. In the middle of an EV price war, that seems a sound strategy that could preserve profit margins for Tesla. It’s not a reason to sell Tesla stock.

But it might be a reason to buy. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Tesla stock put pedal to metal today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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