Tesla Shares Rose by 33%, Logging its Best Weekly Performance Since May 2013

This last week saw a 33% increase in Tesla stock, which is the second-highest weekly performance on record and the greatest since May 2013, according to a report by CNBC.

On Friday, Jan. 27, the stock increased 11% to settle at $177.88. The uptick came after a six-month slide in Tesla share prices of more than 40%.

In Tesla's more than twelve years as a publicly traded corporation, the stock's 65% decline in 2022 was its worst performance yet.

According to CNBC, an encouraging fourth-quarter earnings report contributed to Tesla's rise this week.

2 Million Vehicles

CEO Elon Musk stated on a conference call with investors and analysts that the company was on track to create 2 million vehicles in 2023 and that demand would boost the sales of these vehicles.

Official estimates claim that 1.8 million vehicles should be produced this year. The automaker has not yet changed its long-term objective of a 50% compound annual growth rate over several years.

Tesla recorded total revenue of $24.32 billion, including $324 million in deferred revenue linked to Tesla's driver assistance systems. In December and January, the business drastically reduced the price of its cars.

Tesla disclosed fourth-quarter vehicle deliveries and production that fell short of estimates at the beginning of January.

CNBC notes that Tesla's shares increased in tandem with a larger market upturn. The S&P 500 increased by 2.2% over the week, while the Nasdaq increased by 4.3%.

Shares of other US-based electric vehicle manufacturers increased as well. During the week, shares in Rivian increased by 22%, while shares of Ford and General Motors both saw gains of almost 7%.

On Friday, Lucid also experienced a surge, gaining 43% in response to speculations that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund plans to take the business private.

Musk's decision to focus on Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion in October, was partly responsible for Tesla's poor performance in 2022.

Second Most Shorted Company

Tesla is still the second-most shorted company on the US stock market, behind only Apple, which indicates that many investors are banking on a decline. According to statistics from S3 Partners, almost 94 million of the automaker's shares are shorted.

In related news, Tesla declared that there would be no second production line at its Shanghai Gigafactory despite its earlier expansion plans. This came as a surprise given that the factory has been operating almost at full capacity for a few months now.

According to Tesla's quarterly profit report, the company's primary focus in China in 2022 was on manufacturing and delivery changes.

"Since our Shanghai factory has been successfully running near full capacity for several months, we do not expect meaningful sequential volume increase in the near term," the company said in a statement.