Tesla stock surges as it tries to avoid 10th straight weekly loss

Shares of the electric vehicle maker were up 3.6% in premarket trading at $257.76, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 1% and 0.8%, respectively.

Shares rose 5.3% on Friday, leaving them down just $1.27 or 0.5% for the week. It was the ninth consecutive decline for shares, extending the worst weekly streak for Tesla stock ever.

The postelection run set up some of the recent declines. Tesla stock rose from roughly $250 to $490 a share from the Nov. 5 election to mid-December. Investors believed the second Trump administration would benefit the auto maker, mainly by regulations facilitating the introduction of self-driving cars. Tesla plans to launch a robotaxi service in 2025.

Since the January inauguration, around the time Tesla’s stock slide started, investors have begun to focus more on CEO Elon Musk’s political activities and how they might be turning off Tesla’s traditional buyers—politically left-leaning people looking to go green.

The jump on Friday came after Musk hosted a meeting for Tesla employees. Paying attention to the car company over his Washington, D.C. responsibilities was enough for investors. “Investors roundly cheered Elon’s vision, confidence, spirit, and calmness in praising employees for other efforts during the current media story,” said Future Fund Active ETF co-founder Gary Black.

The end result of all the volatility is a stock that’s roughly flat since the election.

More sales data will move shares in the coming days and weeks. European monthly sales from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association are due out later this week. Tesla’s European sales dropped 45% year over year in January. Some of the drop can be attributed to the model changeover. Tesla is starting a new version of its Model Y.

Then, Tesla will report its first-quarter sales results on Apr. 2. Wall Street is looking for first-quarter sales of 414,000 vehicles, according to FactSet. The most current analyst estimates, however, are closer to 360,000. Tesla delivered 387,000 cars in the first quarter of 2024.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]