Charged: Tesla quarter falls short, Chinese rivals report deliveries

Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to keep up-to-the-second on breaking news in the electric vehicle and clean energy space, as well as which stocks in these sectors that the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.

From the hotly-debated high-flier Tesla (TSLA), Wall Street’s newest darling Rivian (RIVN), traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GM (GM) and Ford (F) to the numerous SPAC-deal makers that have come public in this red-hot space, The Fly has you covered with “Charged,” a weekly recap of the top stories and expert calls in the sector.

WEAKER EARNINGS: Shares of Tesla were on the rise last Thursday despite the electric vehicle maker’s earnings missing expectations. The company pledged to return to growth in 2025 and said plans for new vehicles “remained on track.” Commenting on the results, JPMorgan told investors it was not sure why Tesla shares were up after a 38% EBIT miss, while RBC Capital argued that Tesla’s “moonshots” are “getting real.”

Tesla reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 73c and revenue of $25.71B, both below the expected 77c and $27.13B, reportedly. The EV maker also reported Q4 GAAP gross margin of 16.3%. Tesla said in its quarterly letter to investors that, “With the advancements in vehicle autonomy and the introduction of new products, we expect the vehicle business to return to growth in 2025. The rate of growth will depend on a variety of factors, including the rate of acceleration of our autonomy efforts, production ramp at our factories and the broader macroeconomic environment. We expect energy storage deployments to grow at least 50% year-over-year in 2025… Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025… Our purpose-built Robotaxi product – Cybercab – will continue to pursue a revolutionary ‘unboxed’ manufacturing strategy and is scheduled for volume production starting in 2026,” the company added.

Click here to check out Tesla’s recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks.

EU EMISSION RULES: Under stricter European Union regulations taking effect this year, automakers selling cars in Europe face large penalties if their vehicle production fails to meet targets for reducing carbon emissions, but, with the demand for EVs in Europe slumping, many are lobbying for relief, Liz Alderman and Melissa Eddy of The New York Times reports. Under the current rules, carmakers can meet their targets by increasing the number of zero-emission cars they produce or reducing their output of vehicles with combustion engines. The alternative way would be to buy emission credits by “pooling” with companies that make only electric cars and have an abundance. This has led European carmakers to turn to rivals such as Tesla and Geely (GELYF) of China.

MOUNTING RISKS: Bernstein initiated coverage of Rivian Automotive with an Underperform rating and $6.10 price target. Rivian has built a brand based on adventure and has the resources to scale it, but it faces slower market growth, rising competition, and limits to the segments its brand can address, the firm tells investors in a research note. Bernstein sees the company succeeding in its plan to reach over 500,000 units by 2030, but says this is not enough to create financial success for shareholders. Rivian’s breakeven is “years away” and the company is facing “mounting risks,” according to the firm.

DELIVERIES: Nio (NIO) announced its January 2025 delivery results. The company delivered 13,863 vehicles in January 2025, representing an increase of 37.9% year-over-year. The deliveries consisted of 7,951 vehicles from the Company’s premium smart electric vehicle brand NIO, and 5,912 vehicles from the Company’s family-oriented smart electric vehicle brand ONVO. Cumulative deliveries reached 685,427 as of January 31, 2025.

XPeng (XPEV) also announced its vehicle delivery results for January 2025. In January 2025, XPENG delivered 30,350 Smart EVs, representing a 268% increase year-over-year, surpassing 30,000 units for the third consecutive month. XPENG MONA M03 has delivered over 15,000 units per month for two consecutive months. Meanwhile, XPENG P7+ reached 20,000 cumulative deliveries within just two months of launch.

Additionally, Li Auto (LI) announced that it delivered 29,927 vehicles in January 2025. As of January 31, 2025, Li Auto’s cumulative deliveries reached 1,163,799. Li L6 surpassed the 200,000 cumulative delivery milestone in January 2025. Li L6 maintaining its position as the best-selling extended-range electric vehicle model in China for seven consecutive months.

Meanwhile, Zeekr (ZK) announced it delivered 11,942 vehicles in January 2025. As of the end of January 2025, the company’s cumulative deliveries reached 430,698.

MORE REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS: Guggenheim upgraded Enphase Energy (ENPH) to Neutral from Sell and removed the firm’s previous $62 price target. Investor expectations for the upcoming fiscal year “appear to be more reasonable” and the firm now views shares as “fairly valued,” the firm tells investors. Bloomberg consensus numbers are still above the firm’s estimates for this year, but Guggenheim thinks that is due mostly to stale estimates, and its conversations with investors suggest that buy-side expectations are now “close to our numbers,” Guggenheim added.

SELL XPLR: Morgan Stanley double downgraded XPLR Infrastructure (NEP) to Underweight from Overweight with a price target of $13, down from $22. The company’s strategic review fell short of a resolution that could articulate the value proposition for equity investors going forward, the firm tells investors in a research note. Morgan Stanley says shareholders were asked to incur “significant near-term pain” for an undefined benefit as there was no growth guidance or specific capital allocation framework. This raises “significant uncertainty” around XPLR’s longer-term strategy, growth potential and functionality, contends the firm.

Of note, last month NextEra Energy Partners announced it was changing its name to XPLR Infrastructure, effective January 23, and would begin trading under a new ticker symbol, “XIFR”, on the NYSE on Tuesday, February 3.