Tesla Inc. stock lost more than 3% in the extended session Wednesday after the electric-vehicle maker teased a “next generation” EV to be part of a bigger push toward electrification but stopped short of details.
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Tesla stock had advanced right after the close after ending the regular trading day down 1.4%.
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The stock then saw losses accelerate as the event progressed. Tesla executives sought to highlight Tesla’s technological prowess, but no date for a next-generation vehicle was offered.
Tesla had to “fully rethink” the manufacturing process with the goal of improving assembly and making EVs faster and more cheaply, and with a smaller powertrain and lighter.
Tesla stopped short of giving a timeline for the next-generation car, however.
Chief Executive Elon Musk took the stage, saying that he didn’t want the day to be for only Tesla investors but for “anyone invested in Earth,” and he wanted to offer “hope and optimism based on actual physics and calculations.”
“There’s a clear path toward sustainable energy” that doesn’t require destroying natural habitats or austerity, combining energy storage, EVs, and other aspects of electrification, Musk said.
Musk tweeted nearly a year ago he was “working on” the plan. “Master Plan 2” was released in March 2016, promising a few things that have fallen short of reality, especially around Musk’s hopes for self-driving cars and car-sharing.
The first plan, from 2006, outlined Tesla’s strategy of starting off with a pricey and highly desirable sports car as a springboard funding to future affordable EVs.
The newest blueprint comes as Tesla stock regained the $200 level after trading as low as $109.10 in late December. The stock has gained 64% in the quarter so far, and down 30% in the past 12 months.
See also: Tesla recalls 362,758 EVs, says self-driving software ‘may cause’ crashes
That compares with a decline of about 8% for the S&P 500 index in the past 12 months, and contrasts with a quarterly advance around 3%.
Tesla in late January reported mixed fourth-quarter results, with revenue slightly below Wall Street expectations, but injected some optimism in its production outlook for 2023 and promised to rein in costs faster. Musk also told investors that demand for Tesla’s EVs were not a problem.