Car company sees biggest single-day stock gain since 2013 as CEO Elon Musk forecasts up to 30% in sales growth Tesla shares closed up nearly 22% on Thursday – their biggest single-day gain in over a decade – as Elon Musk’s bold forecast of surging sales reassured investors he was still looking to grow its core business of selling electric cars. At close, nearly $150bn was added to the company’s market value. Musk forecast 20-30% in sales growth next year, promising to launch an affordable vehicle in the first half of 2025, and said efforts to slash production costs boosted margins in the third quarter. Continue reading...

After two slow quarters, Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker reports higher-than-expected earnings per share Tesla shares saw a 12% jump after the company reported its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The electric-car manufacturer was able to bounce back from a tough second quarter, beating Wall Street expectations for earnings per share. The company reported an earnings-per-share of $0.72, surpassing investors’ projection of $0.60. At the end of the second quarter, Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, said the nearly 50% drop in profits was temporary and due to difficulty competing with cheaper or price-slashed electric vehicles by rival companies such as BYD. “We don’t see this as a long-term issue,” Musk said in July, “but really fairly short term.” Continue reading...

Road safety agency opens evaluation over reported collisions in low visibility The US government’s road safety agency has opened an investigation into 2.4m Tesla vehicles with the automaker’s Full Self-Driving software after four reported collisions, including a fatal crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday said it was opening the preliminary evaluation after four reports of crashes where Full Self-Driving was engaged during reduced roadway visibility like sun glare, fog or airborne dust. Continue reading...

Tesla and SpaceX chief’s behavior sets him apart from even the most politically active billionaires – serving as a Trump policy adviser and mega-donor Less than a month before the presidential election, Elon Musk has made himself a near-constant presence in the race. At a rally for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Musk jumps with glee wearing a custom black Maga hat. On social media, he posts AI-generated images attacking Kamala Harris. Behind the scenes, he bankrolls one of the largest pro-Trump political action committees. The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has emerged as a unique influence on the campaign in ways that set him apart from even the most politically active billionaires and tech elite. He is all at once a vocal Trump surrogate, campaign mega-donor, informal policy adviser, media influencer and prolific source of online disinformation. At the same time, he is the world’s richest man and the owner of one of the United States’ most influential social networks, while also operating as a government defense contractor and wielding power over critical satellite communications infrastructure. Continue reading...

Analysts criticise lack of detail about the ‘robotaxi’ showcased by CEO Elon Musk * Elon Musk unveils Tesla Cybercab self-driving robotaxi Tesla shares fell nearly 9% on Friday, wiping about $60bn (£45bn) from the company’s value, after the long-awaited unveiling of its so-called robotaxi failed to excite investors. Shares in the electric carmaker tumbled to $217 at market close following an event in Hollywood, where the chief executive, Elon Musk, revealed a much-hyped driverless vehicle. The stock price is down roughly 12% year-to-date. Continue reading...

Billionaire says autonomous car expected ‘before 2027’ will have a pricetag of less than US$30,000, with a ‘Robovan’ that can carry 20 people to follow Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled the company’s robotaxi, Cybercab, promising it will cost less than US$30,000, and announced plans to bring autonomous driving to its Model 3 and Model Y cars in California and Texas by next year. At the much-anticipated We, Robot event hosted at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, the billionaire arrived in the Cybercab in his trademark black leather jacket, accompanied by a man dressed in a space suit. Human-like robots mingled in the crowd, danced and served drinks to those gathered for the party. Continue reading...

Questions raised about registration in Czech Republic of one of first models to reach continent Tesla’s Cybertruck is too big and sharp for European roads, transport campaigners have warned, as questions are raised about the registration of one of the first of the electric pickup trucks to hit the continent. There had been confusion about whether the Cybertruck could be driven in Europe, owing to strict road safety rules that ban sharp edges and require speed limiters on vehicles that weigh more than 3.5 tonnes when full. Tesla’s manual lists the angular steel vehicle as having a gross vehicle weight of 4 tonnes. (The equivalent of a standard family car, such as a Ford Focus, is 1.9 tonnes.) Continue reading...

EV maker delivered 462,890 vehicles in three months to 30 September while Wall street expected on average 469,828 Tesla missed expectations for third-quarter deliveries on Wednesday, hurt by stiff competition from rivals in China and Europe, sending shares of the world’s most valuable automaker down 3%. The electric vehicles maker handed over 462,890 vehicles in the three months to 30 September up 6.4% from the preceding quarter. Continue reading...

A controversial tweet may make it to the news, but reading every post from the world’s richest man shows how frenzied and extreme he really is It’s just after midnight mountain standard time in the US on 13 August when Elon Musk makes his first post of the day on X, the platform he bought for $44bn when it was known as Twitter. Musk has been tweeting for hours about his interview with Donald Trump, and he will continue into the night before taking a few hours’ break – presumably to sleep – and then logging back on to tweet dozens more times. Over the next 24 hours, Musk will post over 145 times about a range of obsessions, projects and grievances to his 195 million followers. He will share anti-immigrant content, election conspiracies and attacks against the media. He will exchange tweets with far-right politicians, conservative media influencers and sycophantic admirers. He will send a litany of one-word replies that say “yeah”, “interesting” or simply feature a cry-laughing emoji. Continue reading...

A secondhand EV is a possibility for many families as the cost of desirable models, including Kias and Teslas, falls to £15,000 If your current car is on the way out and you think an electric replacement is too expensive, think again. Three-year-old Tesla Model 3s and Kia e-Niros that will do 250-300 miles on a single charge can now be bought for as little as £14,000. In the last year, forecourt prices for used electric cars have tumbled to the extent that previously unaffordable models are now within the reach of many families for the first time. Continue reading...