Stock Market Today, Sept. 25: Tesla Stock Under Pressure Despite Plans to Ramp Semi Truck Production

Tesla (TSLA -1.54%), the global electric-vehicle, battery storage, and autonomous driving systems company, closed at $372.11, down 1.54%. Analyst cuts overshadowed plans for Tesla’s Semi Truck production ramp.
Trading volume reached 44.5 million shares, coming in nearly 14% above its three-month average of 39.1 million shares. Tesla IPO’d in 2010 and has grown 23,303% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.51%) closed at 7,743.41, up 0.51%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.48%) finished at 27,068.72, up 0.48%. Among electric vehicle and energy storage manufacturing peers, Rivian Automotive (RIVN +1.18%) closed at $15.47, up 1.18%, and General Motors (GM +2.56%) closed at $82.63, up 2.56%, highlighting firmer trading in the group.

What this means for investors

Tesla held a launch event for its Semi heavy truck in Nevada, marking the beginning of mass production. The timing seems right as the fully electric truck could be in high demand amid soaring diesel prices. CEO Elon Musk touted the lower per-mile electricity costs of the Semi, which can travel 500 miles on a single charge, fully loaded.

The company plans to produce 50,000 Semi Trucks annually, and some analysts don’t think that’s enough to move the needle.

BNP Paribas cut its Tesla stock price target to $268 per share from $280 yesterday. That was countered, though, by UBS with a $385 price target.

The Semi Truck itself might not be impactful enough to drive earnings, but investors should watch Tesla’s autonomous driving technology, which could also be used for its heavy trucks.