Tesla stock has started to make its long-awaited comeback this week after — repeatedly — bottoming out at new 52-week lows earlier this month.
As of mid-day Friday, Tesla stock is sitting at about $171.60, up a relatively meager 0.86%. But that’s just a small fraction of the stock’s overall 22% boom (about $31) gained since Monday. The stock remains down 31% year-to-date.
Although the Austin, Texas-based company has suffered from poor sales and reported dismal earnings on Tuesday, investors have decided that doesn’t really matter. Instead, they honed in on CEO Elon Musk’s string of promises — despite his long track record of breaking them.
On Wednesday, Tesla said it was planning to launch its own ride-hailing service using a fleet of robotaxis, promising a competitor to Uber. Musk has promised to hold a robotaxi unveiling on August 8, but analysts expect it to be more aspirational than an actual product demonstration.
He also promised that nothing would stop Tesla from solving autonomous driving — not even if he was kidnapped. Musk has promised to go “balls to the wall” for autonomy and Tesla been relentlessly promoting its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, slashing prices and promising frequent updates. Despite the moniker, drivers are required to be present and at the wheel of a Tesla vehicle enabled with FSD.
Musk also said Tesla expects new, more affordable models to launch in early 2025. That comes in stark contrast to multiple reports that the EV maker would delay its plans for a budget-friendly car in favor of its self-driving ambitions.
And his promises have paid off: Musk has reclaimed his spot on Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. The billionaire is now once again wealthier than Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, thanks to Meta’s big market capitalization loss this week and Tesla’s gains.
Much of both executives’ wealth comes from their stakes in their companies; Musk controls about 20.5% of Tesla, at least for now. Zuckerberg surpassed Musk’s wealth last week after a dreadful week for Tesla.
Tesla last week issued sweeping layoffs that may have affected as many as 20,000 workers and saw two of its executives resign. And after Tuesday’s earnings call closed, Tesla head of investor relations Martin Viecha said he would also be leaving the company.
Despite the stock’s performance, this week hasn’t been all sunshines and roses. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday said it would investigate Tesla’s recall of more than 2 million electric vehicles and identified concerns with the software fix it issued.