Tesla’s Relief Rally, Volkswagen’s Diess Springs in Surprise, Lucid Beefs Up Management Team, Faraday Future Stalls and More: This Week’s Biggest EV Stories

Electric vehicle stocks ended higher for most of the week ended July 22 on a strong earnings report from the market leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA. Some stocks reacted to company-specific developments, while shares in Chinese electric vehicle makers closed uniformly lower.
Here are the main events that took place in the EV space during the week:
Tesla leaves the worst behind: Tesla reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings despite a margin squeeze. Topline has missed expectations, weighed down by the COVID lockdowns in China. Undeterred by the setback, the company is confidently moving forward. Tesla hinted on the earnings call that it’s likely to post record-breaking second-half performance. Analysts, even the bulls, were skeptical that this was a stretch goal.
The rally before and after the gains has burned a hole in the pockets of short sellers, who have lost $1.55 billion over the past 30 days, S3 Partners said.
Other highlights included the liquidation of 75% of Tesla Bitcoin BTC/USD establishments. On the earnings call, CEO Elon Musk confirmed the launch timing of the much-anticipated Cybertruck, which he thinks might be Tesla’s best product ever.
In a further development, Tesla has reportedly launched an internal investigation into Giga Austin’s executive Omead Afshar for his alleged role in sourcing glass, which was considered suspicious. The executive bought the hard-to-find material, saying it was needed for a classified project, Bloomberg said.
Related Link: According to Elon Musk, this is one of the best features of the Tesla Model X SUV
Volkswagen boss leaves at the end of August: of Volkswagen AG VWAGY chairman Herbert Diess, who is primarily behind the German legacy automaker’s aggressive EV push has reportedly shared its decision to step down at the end of August. According to a report, the board has reached an agreement with the CEO on the terms of the departure.
The company’s Porsche brand boss will take over his position, Oliver Blume. The inside story allegedly suggests that Diess and the board have recently been at odds over moving forward with electrification, earning him the union’s ire. For Volkswagen, this could spell a setback given Diess’ ambitious goal of overthrowing leader Tesla in the EV race.
Separately, the company announced its Scout II all-electric pickup truck, which is expected to launch in the United States by 2026.
Ford Announces Full Throttle Toward EV Targets: Ford Motor Company f announced an update to its electrification strategy and outlined its supply chain plans. This will help the company meet its goal of ramping up to an annual production rate of 600,000 by 2023 and over 2 million by 2026, according to the company.
The company said it will work with China’s CATL to source cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries in the coming year and also announced increased supplies from its existing suppliers, including SK Innovation and LG Energy Solutions.
Lucid is hiring high caliber executives: Lucid Group Inc LCID has added two new executives to its management team as part of its global expansion. The company hired Evelyn Chiang as VP for process transformation and Walter Ludwig as VP Global Logistics. Chiang has held leadership positions at Tesla and SAPSE JUICEand Ludwig is a seasoned automotive executive with 28 years tenure at Mercedes-Benz Group AG DDAIF.
Related Link: Elon Musk praises the Airbnb co-founder after his decision to move on
Faraday Future Reverses Gains: Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc FFIE The rally stalled this week after the stock rallied over 180% between early July and mid-month. The strong upside came amid a lack of major company-specific developments, with gains attributed to a potential short squeeze.
EV stock performance for the week: