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Investing.com—Here’s your weekly Pro recap of the past week’s biggest headlines in the electric vehicle space: The Stellantis Predicament; Musk indicates openness to publicity; NIO goes nuclear; New EV tax in Texas.
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Canada “would-they-won’t-” with Stellantis
Bolstering headlines this week, Stellantis (NYSE:NYSE) announced Monday that it is halting construction of its $3.7 billion EV battery plant in Windsor, Ontario. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that the decision stemmed from a dispute with the federal government over much-sought subsidies.
Increased federal support to sustain construction in the country was negotiated, but Canada was slow to deliver on its promises, prompting the STLA to pump the brakes. Canada’s federal government has argued that Ontario, where the battery plant is being built, should “pay its fair share” and offer the automaker more attractive terms.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford initially resisted the idea, but eventually answered the call on Friday when he announced that his government would also increase its financial support to help Stellantis resume construction.
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Tesla handles advertising
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:) quickly fell 2.4% early Monday after Soros’ influencer fund cut its $16 million stake in the company, effectively canceling its investment in the electric car giant. The fund also reduced its stake Rivian Motors (NASDAQ:) follows the electric car maker’s share falling 90% from its intraday peak in November 2021.
However, what everyone is about this week is CEO Elon Musk’s reflection on his advertising policy. Musk has for years resisted the idea of advertising, tweeting in 2019 that he “hates advertising” and “we’re using this money to make the product cool.” But during the company’s investor meeting on Tuesday, an investor asked about potential ads and it appeared that in real time during the meeting Musk decided to try advertising, saying the company would try “a little bit of advertising.”
Stocks quickly rebounded and continued to rise after news broke that Tesla was looking to establish a manufacturing presence in India. Tesla met officials from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office on Wednesday, where he proposed a new factory, albeit without specifying the location or investment. The proposal comes after India refused to agree to Tesla’s request last year to lower the import tax on cars, which could reach 100%.
TSLA shares rose 5.9% for the week.
NIO goes nuclear
Chinese electric car maker Nio (NYSE: ) has made an investment in Neo Fusion, a company that is developing fusion technologies for commercial use.
Nio invested 995 million yuan for a 19.9% stake while Nio Capital, the investment firm founded by Nio CEO William Li, invested 505 million yuan for a 10.1% stake.
“Committed to fulfilling the original ambition of Blue Sky Coming, Nio aims to facilitate the research, development, and commercialization of nuclear fusion technology through a financial investment in this project,” Nio said in a statement on Friday.
The electric car maker also announced a collaboration agreement with Autoliv (NYSE: NYSE), a vehicle safety supplier, Friday. Under the agreement, NIO and Autoliv will collaborate on developing safety products that meet the needs of electric vehicles.
NIO shares ended the week at $8.07, down 2.3% from their weekly high of $8.26, achieved on Monday.
Electric vehicles in politics
Over the weekend, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill requiring electric vehicle owners to pay $400 to register a new electric vehicle, in addition to other fees. The bill, Senate Bill 505, passed by a unanimous vote in the Texas State House in late April. Senator Robert Nichols (R), who sponsored the legislation, said the surcharge for electric vehicles is necessary because those drivers don’t pay taxes on gas when they refuel their cars.
The new tax is expected to go into effect Sept. 1, and is expected to funnel at least $38 million in new money into the state highway fund.
In other political news, the Biden-Harris administration on Thursday announced a $51 million investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure to accelerate the electrification of the nation’s transportation sector.
In addition, the government announced the creation of the National Charging Experiment Consortium (ChargeX), with the aim of accelerating the development of instant and practical electric vehicle charging solutions. The goal of ChargeX is to help the electric vehicle industry achieve first-time success every time a customer uses the public charging infrastructure.
The consortium already has commitments from nearly 30 companies and organizations working to support the deployment of a reliable national freight network.
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