Auto roundup: Tesla drags down EV startup names, Toyota is the 2022 safe play
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Some electric vehicle startup stocks are seeing selling pressure after Elon Musk warned of jobs cuts and a hiring freeze at Tesla (TSLA) due to his "super bad" feeling on the economy
Notable decliners in Friday morning trading included Lucid Group (LCID) -6.09%, Lordstown Motors (RIDE) -5.97%, Sono Group (SEV) -5.69%, Workhorse Group (WKHS) -5.57%, Canoo (GOEV) -4.72%, Arrival (ARVL) -4.71% and Fisker (FSR) -4.50%. Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA) fell 8.46% on heavy volume.
Analysts warn that the cautionary tone from the EV leader could dial back growth and valuation expectations broadly across the sector even as the supply outlook in China improved this week. There is also some concern that the early jump by Ford (F
-3.1%) and General Motors (GM
-3.0%) in winning over some EV customers could dent the debuts of the startups, which have seen production timetable delays due to the supply chain headwinds.
The EV stocks with the biggest year-to-date share price declines are Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS) -92% and Mullen Automotive (MULN) -76%.
The best performer of all the auto manufacturing stocks this year is Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) with a -8.1% decline that is ahead of broad market averages.
Read about Toyota's new storage battery system that could challenge the Tesla Powerwall.