EV stocks hit fresh lows as Tesla shares suffer biggest 2-day selloff this year

By Tomi Kilgore

Mullen Automotive, Lucid and VinFast stocks sink toward record lows in wake of Tesla's disappointing earnings report

Shares of electric-vehicle makers fell to fresh lows Thursday, pulled down by a big selloff in sector leader Tesla Inc.'s stock after a disappointing earnings report.

The Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicle ETF DRIV dropped 0.9% in morning trading toward the lowest close since May 4, while the S&P 500 index SPX inched 0.1% lower. The ETF has now declined 19.0% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has slipped 5.5%.

Tesla's stock (TSLA) tumbled 7.4% toward a two-month low after the EV giant missed third-quarter earnings expectations, and as Chief Executive Elon Musk tempered expectations for the much-anticipated Cybertruck. After slumped 4.8% on Wednesday ahead of earnings, the stock was on track for the biggest two-day decline -- 11.9% -- since it plunged 13% in the two days ended Dec. 27, 2022.

Read: Opinion: Tesla's Cybertruck has Elon Musk sounding unusually cautious.

Investors worry that Tesla will continue to lower prices as it balances the positive effect on vehicle sales against a negative impact on margins.

"Tesla left open the door for more price cuts ahead as Musk discussed a challenging macro environment with high interest rates that has clearly created a Rubik's Cube backdrop for Tesla to navigate with consumers," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to clients.

Among some of the more active EV maker stocks, Nikola Corp.'s (NKLA) sank 6.9% toward a five-week low, Lucid Group Inc.'s (LCID) lost 4.0% toward a record low, Mullen Automotive Inc.'s (MULN) plummeted 23.1% toward a record low and Rivian Automotive Inc.'s (RIVN) slid 3.7% toward a 3 1/2-month low.

Among Tesla's China-based rivals, shares of Nio Inc. (NIO) shed 2.0%, of XPeng Inc. (XPEV) dropped 1.5%, and of Li Auto Inc. (LI) were down 1.8%, with all headed toward four-month lows.

Elsewhere, Fisker Inc.'s stock (FSR) declined 2.4, VinFast Auto Ltd. shares (VFS) were down 4.0% toward a record low and Workhorse Group Inc.'s stock (WKHS) took a 6.0% hit.

-Tomi Kilgore

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10-19-23 1019ET

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