Welcome to The Fly's latest edition of "Charged," where we look back at some recent analysts' notes, news and activity in the electric vehicle and clean energy space.
NEW EV CONSUMER REBATES: The White House's $174B proposal to increase electric vehicles calls for $100B in new consumer rebates as well as $15B to establish 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations, reported Reuters' David Shepardson, citing a Transportation Department email sent to congressional staff. The new rebates, which are included in a $2.3T infrastructure and jobs proposal, could be a boon for U.S. car makers, which no longer qualify for $7,500 rebates after they sold over 200,000 zero-emission models, said the author. The proposal from the Biden administration also calls for $20B for electric school buses, $25B for zero emission transit vehicles, and $14B in other incentives, noted the publication.
INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN COULD EXPAND TESLA ADVANTAGE: Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said the $174B EV infrastructure package proposed by the Biden Administration could possibly, "in some scenarios," widen Tesla's (TSLA) "disproportionate advantage" over legacy auto players and new entrants. He believes investors "may need to prepare for" an EV infrastructure bill that includes purchase incentives for EVs, development of charging and manufacturing infrastructure, and grid enhancement that could disproportionately benefit Tesla and pure BEV startups in the near-term, but also set up a "relevant/if not thriving terminal value" long-term for other players in the electric vehicle market. Jonas argued that "auto investors face greater risk NOT OWNING Tesla shares in their portfolio than OWNING Tesla shares in their portfolio."
'APPLE-ESQUE' ECOSYSTEM: On Monday morning, Canaccord Genuity analyst Jed Dorsheimer upgraded Tesla to Buy from Hold with a price target of $1,071, up from $419. The company is positioned to "attack and conquer" another trillion-dollar market as its ramps up its focus on energy generation and storage, Dorsheimer tells investors in a research note. The analyst predicts Tesla's generation and storage unit could yield $8 billion of revenue by 2025. Tesla "is rapidly creating an Apple (AAPL)-esque ecosystem of energy products, harmonized in electrification, to become The Brand in energy storage," Dorsheimer writes. The analyst believes that as battery supply constraints ease, Tesla will be able to meet demand for its Powerwall home storage. Tesla "holds a several-year lead and is now expanding aggressively into storage and thus feel our multiple is warranted," wrote Dorsheimer.
NIKOLA LOSES FUEL-CELL EXECUTIVE: Nikola (NKLA) confirmed to Bloomberg that Jesse Schneider, its executive vice president of technology, hydrogen and fuel-cells, left the company as of April 1. Schneider led Nikola's engineering teams working on fuel-cell systems, a planned hydrogen fueling station network and storage technology, reported Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow.
SILVERADO ELECTRIC PICKUP TRUCK: General Motors (GM) President Mark Reuss announced Chevrolet will introduce a Silverado electric pickup truck that will be built at the company's Factory ZERO assembly plant in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. Reuss also confirmed the recently revealed GMC HUMMER electric vehicle will be built at Factory ZERO. GM plans to deliver more than 1M electric vehicles globally by 2025. The electric Silverado will offer a GM-estimated range of more than 400 miles on a full charge.
EV BATTERY COSTS: General Motors is testing a number of battery chemistries, technologies and manufacturing processes aimed at cutting the cost of future electric vehicle batteries and reducing its dependence on such price-sensitive metals as cobalt, reported Reuters' Paul Lienert, citing President Mark Reuss. Speaking at an investor conference, Reuss said GM is experimenting with silicon-rich and lithium metal anodes, solid state and high voltage electrolytes, and dry processing of electrodes for its next generation of Ultium batteries, which are expected around 2025.
FORD MUSTANG MACH-E REPORTED ISSUES: Some owners of the brand-new Ford (F) Mustang Mach-E are finding that their electric SUVs won't start even when the main battery pack is full, reported The Verge's Sean O'Kane. According to the publication, there is an issue with some early Mustang Mach-E SUVs that involves how the much smaller 12-volt battery gets charged. Ford recently filed a technical service bulletin with the NHTSA that confirms the problem has to do with the software on the powertrain control module, and that this only affects Mustang Mach-E SUVs built on or before February 3.
MINORITY STAKE IN ROMEO POWER: Paccar (PCAR) has announced a five-year supply agreement for battery power systems with Romeo Power (RMO). Paccar will purchase Romeo Power's battery packs and battery management software for heavy-duty battery electric Peterbilt 579EV vehicles and Peterbilt 520EV refuse trucks in North America. Paccar has become a minority shareholder in Romeo Power as part of the strategic alliance.
Tesla
+24.36 (+3.60%)
Nikola
-0.96 (-7.51%)
General Motors
-0.38 (-0.63%)
Ford
-0.105 (-0.84%)
Paccar
+1.35 (+1.45%)
Romeo Power
+0.15 (+1.56%)