This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) popped more than 5% on Wednesday after Reuters reported CEO Elon Musk as having filed an appeal to end his 2018 agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over his Twitter posts. 

Meanwhile, an analyst just forecast stronger days ahead for the electrical vehicle (EV) manufacturer.

So what

After the SEC filed a lawsuit in 2018 alleging that Musk defrauded investors through "false and misleading statements" on Twitter about having secured sufficient funding to take Tesla private, Musk and Tesla entered into an agreement with the regulator. As part of the settlement, Musk stepped down as Tesla's chairman, and Tesla and Musk agreed to pay $20 million each in penalties while also agreeing to have the CEO's tweets about any material business information screened by a lawyer before posting on the social media platform.

The SEC later sought a probe and subpoenaed documents, though, causing Musk to accuse it of harassment and undermining his constitutional right to free speech. Earlier this year, he sought to end the decree to get his tweets vetted, but a U.S. district judge quashed his efforts in April.

Musk isn't relenting just yet, though. This morning, he appealed the judge's refusal, and will ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to overturn the judge's decision, according to Reuters.

Now what

As long as the decree stands, Musk and Tesla will continue to face noncompliance and other legal risks. Musk's latest appeal shows his firm intent to end the decree and the legal overhang on Tesla.

Meanwhile, Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh reiterated his buy rating on Tesla stock this morning, saying he believes the company should benefit as China eases COVID-19 lockdowns and sales of EVs pick up globally. Retail sales of new-energy vehicles in China surged almost 91% year over year in May, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.

Tesla has other challenges to tackle right now, but with analysts projecting a strong recovery in the global EV market for the second half of 2022, investors found a good reason to turn bullish about the stock today. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Tesla stock jumped 5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Tesla and Twitter. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Nio (NYSE: NIO) stock made a dramatic U-turn today after yesterday's plunge, popping 16.7% by market close. Although the markets remain choppy, investors in the electric vehicle (EV) stock are excited about an event coming up tomorrow (US time), June 15.

So what

Nio will hold a product launch event tomorrow and although the company hasn't specified what product will hold the spotlight, it should be its ES7 SUV. Nio released a teaser video of the new model today, giving a sneak peek into its camera and lidar sensor system.

It's an important event as Nio has been postponing ES7's launch since April amid COVID-19 restrictions in China. ES7 will be Nio's sixth EV and is a mid-to-large-size five-seater SUV, between the ES6 and ES8.

That may raise concerns about market cannibalization where the new product could eat into the demand for existing ones instead of creating fresh demand for the company. ES7, though, is smaller than ES8 and will likely be priced higher than ES6. Pricing could make all the difference here which is why it's important to consider what Nio announces tomorrow.

Note that ES6 is also Nio's lowest-priced trim and made up the bulk of its deliveries in the first quarter. Adding a more expensive model, therefore, could also help Nio bump up its average selling prices in the coming quarters, provided the new model receives a warm reception from consumers. Importantly, Nio is expected to start deliveries of the ES7 crossover as early as August.

Now what

Nio's first-quarter numbers failed to impress the market but the EV maker expects its deliveries and margins to bounce back. ES7 will likely contribute to that rebound.

Nio may be facing some headwinds but these appear to be near-term blips and I wouldn't be surprised to see more buying coming in the growth stock. The EV maker, after all, is looking forward to a much stronger second half of the year and is working on its ambitious long-term plans that include the launch of an affordable mass-market EV by 2024.

I consider Nio one of the top growth stocks to buy on any dip, and that's exactly what investors appear to be doing today.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Nio stock jumped 17% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Nio Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Barely days ago, the stock of Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) caught the market's attention when billionaire George Soros' investment fund revealed a stake in the electric vehicle (EV) start-up. Turns out, Soros isn't the only billionaire that eyed Rivian.

In its latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, activist investor and billionaire Dan Loeb's hedge fund, Third Point, revealed  ownership of 4,046,572 shares of Rivian for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021. As of that date, Third Point's Rivian stake was valued at roughly $408.3 million. 

Notably, Third Point didn't own any shares in Rivian until the third quarter, which means something about the EV pickup truck manufacturer must have caught Loeb's attention in the following months. Rivian stock surged Thursday morning on the news, encouraging some to bet on Rivian stock ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release on March 10. Should you jump in, too? 

But while institutional buying in stocks is seen as a stamp of approval, you must also remember that such financial institutions do not disclose their stock moves in real time, and a lot may change by the time you find out what they bought and sold.

So for example, the latest filings from Loeb's and Soros' funds reveal their portfolios as of the end of 2021, and there's no knowing yet whether they still own, have bought more, or sold off Rivian shares since. 

In fact, if Loeb and Soros saw an opportunity in the sharp dip in Rivian's stock price in the end of 2021, they must be disappointed given how far the EV stock has fallen further since -- it's down a whopping 37% year to date, as of this writing. 

The point being, if you want your money's worth, you might want to pay less attention to billionaire moves on a stock and stay laser-focused on the company's underlying fundamentals and growth opportunities. 

Rivian was an early mover in the red-hot EV industry, and its R1T pickup truck even won the 2022 MotorTrend Truck of the Year award. However, Rivian failed to meet its production target last year even as its net loss mounted to $2.2 billion against revenue of only $1 million during the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2021. 

Yet the demand for the R1T pickup has been strong so far, and Rivian is reportedly ramping up production rapidly now to nearly 200 units per week, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Rivian is working on its R1S SUV as well as its commercial vans, for which it has already secured an order for 100,000 units from e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).   

Rivian, though, must show the numbers to gain investors' faith, which is why its upcoming earnings report is so important. Has it really scaled up production and deliveries? Has it delivered its first electric delivery vehicle (EDV) to Amazon as planned? Is it on track to start key projects like the construction of its second factory in Georgia this year? 

These are just some of the important questions investors in Rivian should seek answers to on March 10, as only answers in the affirmative can help the stock rebound and sustain momentum given that it's still commanding a steep market capitalization of $58 billion despite the recent plunge. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Yet another billionaire buys Rivian stock: Should you too? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)'s crusade against climate change continues. In its latest move, the e-commerce giant has struck a deal to buy 380 megawatts (MW) of wind energy from Hollandse Kust Noord, a wind farm off the coast of Netherlands that's being developed by The Crosswind, a consortium between oil major Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.B) and Eneco, a Netherlands-based energy company owned by Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (OTC: MSBHF).

Amazon says this project, called the Amazon-Shell HKN Offshore Wind Project, is also its "largest single-site renewable energy project" yet.

The wind farm is expected to be operational by 2023 with an installed capacity of 759 MW. That means Amazon will buy 50% of its total power starting in 2024 to power its operations in Europe, including 250 MW from Shell and 130 MW from Eneco.

This project takes Amazon one step closer to its goal of becoming a 100% renewable energy company by 2025, five years ahead of its original target announced in late 2019 under its Climate Pledge.

Amazon has made significant investments in renewable energy since. In 2020, it became the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, having announced 127 solar and wind energy projects with 6.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity by Dec. 10, 2020.

With its latest offshore wind project, Amazon's global wind and solar projects now total 187 with a capacity of 6.9 GW.

Lately, Amazon has been consistently hitting the headlines for its clean energy initiatives. The first of its three wind farms in Ireland came online earlier this month, and the company just ordered more than 1,000 natural-gas engines for its distribution fleet. These moves reflect Amazon's commitment to becoming net-zero carbon by 2040.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Amazon unveils its largest-ever renewable energy project appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.