Tesla Shares Reach Historic High as Investor Confidence Grows

Image: Tesla

Tesla is once again delighting investors with solid growth, bolstering confidence in the company. Optimus development is impressive, a new model is in the works, and more in today’s roundup with Jowua.

Tesla Shares Reach Historic High

Tesla shares hit a new all-time high on Wednesday. The intraday high was $424.88, and the close was $424.77, which was a great way to end the year. The company’s market cap has surpassed $1.31 trillion, making Tesla more valuable than the next 27 automakers combined. Many factors contributed to this rise, including recent development updates.

Optimus Demonstrates Uneven Terrain Walk

Getting a bipedal robot to move on different surfaces is notoriously difficult. We have seen robots from various companies, including Tesla, move on smooth surfaces, but not many can demonstrate a stable gait on uneven terrain.

Earlier this week, Tesla released a video of its humanoid robot’s latest achievement. Optimus walked on a hill, covered in dry grass in one section of the video and on the ground in another. Such a surface is not the easiest for even humans to maintain a steady gait. Although Optimus’ gait seems a little awkward, it should be emphasized that the robot managed the task quite well, setting a high bar for competitors in the industry.

Tesla Prepares to Start Production of Affordable Vehicle in 1H 2025

According to a report from GlobalChinaEV, Tesla’s Investor Relations head Travis Axelrod during a recent investor call with Deutsche Bank revealed some details about the new car model. He said the car would debut with a base price of under $30,000 in the United States after subsidies, with a potential starting price of $25,000. When production begins in China, prices could be lowered even further, with estimates suggesting a starting price of around $19,200.

The car will be built on Tesla’s next-generation platform. It will be 15% smaller and 30% lighter than Model 3, with an overall length of around 3,988 mm. The car will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, available in two configurations, 53 kWh and 75 kWh, which will provide a range of 310 miles. The new model production is scheduled for the first half of 2025.

US to Approve Tesla’s NACS as Federal EV Charging Standard

The US government has said it plans to approve Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) as a federal EV charging standard. This is a significant change that recognizes Tesla's achievement. According to Kristin White, Acting Federal Highway Administrator, the transition to NACS will occur within the existing rules.