Tesla shares experienced a premarket surge of approximately 10.5% on Wednesday, following reassuring announcements from the electric-car manufacturer, according to news agency Reuters.
These announcements included optimistic sales projections for the year and plans to introduce more affordable models by early 2025, alleviating concerns about slowing growth.
Investors had been anticipating negative news after a turbulent week for Tesla, marked by significant layoffs, departures of key executives, price reductions, and the postponement of a highly anticipated meeting with the Indian prime minister.
These newly unveiled initiatives also helped alleviate concerns on Wall Street, offsetting Tesla's underwhelming first-quarter performance, which included a lower-than-expected profit and the company's first quarterly revenue decline in almost four years.
"First impression for us is CEO Elon Musk is appeasing the market by accelerating new product launches," Jefferies analyst were quoted as saying by Reuters.
Tesla's market value likely to increase by nearly $50 billion, led by the premarket surge in its stock price, which currently stands at $460 billion. However, the company's stock has experienced a 42% decline this year due to elevated borrowing expenses that have tempered electric vehicle (EV) demand and intensified price competition in China, a crucial market.
The implementation of Tesla's growth strategy might bolster backing for a shareholder vote scheduled for May regarding Elon Musk's $56 billion compensation plan. This plan was invalidated by a Delaware court in January.
In recent days, certain Tesla investors, including Ross Gerber, who serves as the president and CEO at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, expressed intentions to resist the package. They pointed to Tesla's declining share price and concerns regarding the integrity of the board as reasons for their opposition.
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Certain investors in Tesla, where the stock trades at a forward estimated earnings PE ratio of 57.38, significantly surpassing Ford's 7.06 and General Motors' 4.80, may find the valuation noteworthy.
Before the market opened, Tesla's shares surged to around $160 each, resulting in a paper loss of $1.62 billion for short sellers since the previous day's close, as reported by data and analytics firm Ortex.
Nevertheless, despite this recent setback, short-sellers have still accrued nearly $8 billion in profits throughout the year.
