Shares of the American automaker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) were up 2.56% at the top of the noon hour on September 14. The stock is up 74% in 2017 and 90% year over year.
On September 11 Xinhua news in China reported that the state is thinking about banning gasoline powered vehicles to promote the development of hybrids and electric cars in the country. This can perhaps be seen as partly altruistic but also an indication that the Chinese government wants to ensure that its engineers are not falling too far behind in an industry that is likely to see huge gains in the next decade. Other international players have laid out plans for phasing out petroleum fuelled vehicles, which bodes extremely well for Tesla.
On September 13 founder and CEO Elon Musk announced that the Tesla Semi Truck is scheduled to be unveiled at an October 26 event. Musk also revealed in April that a pickup truck unveil should be forthcoming sometime in the next 24 months. Though the launch of the Semi and a pickup truck has met with some skepticism it demonstrates that Tesla is moving aggressively to meet the demands for the future of trucking.
Tesla stock is still trading $10 off of its all-time high reached in June of $386.99. Though the stock has been a fantastic performer – increasing over 1000% in a 5 year period, it is prone to volatility as it has failed to deliver on ambitious promises in the past.
