What You Missed This Week in EVs and Clean Energy

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.

DELIVERIES: On July 2, Tesla said that, “In the second quarter, we produced approximately 411,000 vehicles and delivered approximately 444,000 vehicles. We deployed 9.4 GWh of energy storage products in Q2, the highest quarterly deployment yet. Tesla will post its financial results for the second quarter of 2024 after market close on Tuesday, July 23.”

Commenting on the numbers, Morgan Stanley called the report “one of the first and only positive auto surprises of the year for Tesla.” However, the firm still believes matching last year’s delivery number “would be difficult to achieve” given that Tesla would have to grow deliveries by around 6% year-over-year in the second half to hold volume flat. In addition, a “show stealer” from the update is the all-time record high stationary storage number of 9.4 GWh for Q2, which the firm notes is nearly double its forecast. Morgan Stanley maintains an Overweight rating and $310 price target on Tesla shares.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo says that while Tesla’s Q2 deliveries of 444,000 were above the consensus estimate of 438,000, fiscal 2024 number is “still in question.” The first half of 2024 pace implies a 1.66M annual run rate, which would be down 8% from the 1.8M deliveries in 2023, the firm tells investors in a research note. Wells acknowledges that Q2 beat its 385,000 estimate, but notes Tesla’s delivery pace still implies downside for fiscal 2024. Wells keeps an Underweight rating on the shares with a $120 price target.

BUY TESLA: China Renaissance upgraded Tesla to Buy from Hold with a price target of $282.13, up from $151.31. The analyst increased estimates to reflect the “substantial expansion” of Tesla’s energy storage business in Q2. The firm sees “re-rating opportunities” for the shares from an improving electric vehicle business and new products from Full-Self Driving, Robotaxi, and the company’s robot segments.

CHINA GOVERNMENT LIST: China added the Tesla Model Y to a list of electric and hybrid car models that a local government can purchase for use as a service car – a major boost to CEO Elon Musk as the billionaire aims to boost Tesla’s sales in the country, The New York Post’s Taylor Herzlich reports. Chinese state-owned publication The Paper reported that this is the first time a Tesla model has been made eligible for government purchase in China.

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

RIVIAN DELIVERIES: Rivian Automotive announced production and delivery totals for the quarter ending June 30. The company produced 9,612 vehicles at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois and delivered 13,790 vehicles during the same period. Production and delivery results during the second quarter of 2024 were in line with Rivian’s expectations. For the full year 2024, management is reaffirming guidance for annual production of 57,000 total vehicles.

CHINESE EV MAKERS DELIVERIES: Nio (NIO) announced its June and second quarter 2024 delivery results, with the company delivering 21,209 vehicles in June, an increase of 98.1% year-over-year. The deliveries consisted of 11,581 premium smart electric SUVs, and 9,628 premium smart electric sedans. Nio delivered 57,373 vehicles in the second quarter, representing an increase of 143.9% year-over-year. Cumulative deliveries of Nio vehicles reached 537,020 as of June 30.

XPeng (XPEV) also announced its vehicle delivery results for June and first half of 2024. In June, XPeng delivered 10,668 Smart EVs, representing a 24% increase year-over-year and up 5% over the prior month. This month the XPeng X9’s deliveries reached 1,687 units, with its cumulative total up to 13,143 units just half a year after its launch, maintaining its streak as the top seller in both the all-electric MPV and three-row model segments in China. Overall, XPeng delivered 52,028 Smart EVs in the first half year of 2024, a 26% increase from last year. In addition, the monthly active user penetration rate of XNGP in urban driving scenarios reached 84%.

Lastly, Li Auto (LI) announced that it delivered 47,774 vehicles in June, up 46.7% year over year. This brought the company’s second-quarter deliveries to 108,581, increasing 25.5% year over year. As of June 30, its cumulative deliveries reached 822,345 vehicles, ranking first among China’s emerging new energy auto brands. As of June 30, the company had 497 retail stores in 148 cities, 421 servicing centers and Li Auto-authorized body and paint shops operating in 220 cities, and 614 super charging stations in operation equipped with 2,726 charging stalls in China.

RESEARCH TACTICAL IDEA: Morgan Stanley named Li Auto (LI) as Research Tactical Idea, noting that the stock has traded off recently and citing a belief that the share price will rise in absolute terms over the next 15 days. The firm believes Seres’ announced acquisition of Aito’s trademark and patents from its strategic partner, Huawei, might work in Li Auto’s favor. Morgan Stanley has an Overweight rating and HK$205 price target on Li Auto shares.