F - Ford Motor Company
6.15 +0.11 (1.74%)
Before hours: 4:48AM EDT
| Previous Close | 5.98 |
| Open | 6.10 |
| Bid | 6.16 x 40700 |
| Ask | 0.00 x 317700 |
| Day's Range | 6.00 - 6.17 |
| 52 Week Range | 3.96 - 10.56 |
| Volume | 67,270,506 |
| Avg. Volume | 92,841,972 |
| Market Cap | 24.061B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 1.30 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | N/A |
| EPS (TTM) | -0.78 |
| Earnings Date | Jul. 28, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | Jan. 29, 2020 |
| 1y Target Est | 6.20 |
- Reuters
Ford's China ventures extend auto sales recovery in June
Ford Motor's China ventures reported year-on-year sales growth for June as the world's biggest auto market continues to recover from coronavirus-induced lows. Ford's new SUV models including Escape, Edge and Explorer are selling well and contributed to growth in past months, it said in a statement. Jiangling Motors Corp (JMC), in which Ford owns a stake, said in a filing last week that it sold 39,192 vehicles last month, up 67% year on year.
- Motley Fool
Q2 Sales Plummet at GM and Ford as Coronavirus Takes a Toll
U.S. automakers have been squeezed this year by a combination of falling demand because of the weak economy and supply constraints because of coronavirus-related plant shutdowns. GM and its dealers delivered 492,489 vehicles in the U.S. during the second quarter: down 34% year over year. All four of its brands posted sales declines in excess of 30%, including a 41.4% drop at Cadillac, which was hurt by a soft luxury vehicle market.
- Zacks
Ford Sees 33.3% Fall in Q2 Sales Volume, Partners With Disney
While Ford's (F) retail sales decline 14.3% in Q2, it records the best retail share of 13.3% in five years, driven by the Built for America campaign and a winning portfolio of pickups, vans and SUVs.
- Bloomberg
Tesla's Overexcited Fans Should Cool Down a Little
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Back when Tesla Inc. delivered 95,000 cars to customers during the spring quarter of 2019, the stock price was languishing at about $235 and Elon Musk’s electric car company was valued at “only” $40 billion. Fast forward a year and the shares are now priced at more than $1,200. With a market capitalization of $224 billion, Tesla has surpassed Toyota Motor Corp. as the world’s most valuable automaker.Yet in the second quarter of 2020, Tesla delivered 91,000 vehicles — about 5% fewer than the same period last year. That’s pretty underwhelming for a company whose fans view it as a fast-growing technology company in the mold of Amazon.com Inc., rather than a sluggish metal-bashing carmaker. So how is the massive recent jump in its market value justified?In fairness, it shows resilience to sell this many cars when the company’s main California plant was shut by the pandemic for much of the spring period. Doubtless, Tesla’s new Shanghai plant picked up the production slack, which suggests the expense and effort of getting that China factory up and running was worth it. The launch of Tesla’s new Model Y crossover vehicle will have helped. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. both saw their U.S. deliveries decline by a third in the same quarter. Nevertheless, Tesla’s stock market acolytes pushed the shares up another 8% on Thursday, adding $16.5 billion to the market value. Such exuberance is hard to understand. Musk’s company sold 7,650 more vehicles than analysts expected during the second quarter, and the stock price jump equates to about $2 million of added shareholder value for each of those additional sales. This seems a little excessive given that a Tesla Model 3 sells for less than $40,000, and the profit margin on those cars is pretty slim. The shareholder reaction makes even less sense when you consider that Tesla investors aren’t really meant to buying the stock because of the company’s current sales, which are less than 4% of Volkswagen AG’s. Rather, the investment case is a long-term one: that it will come to occupy a dominant position in clean transport and energy in the years ahead. That explains why the shares trade at 320 times its analyst-estimated earnings this year. Viewed through this lens, Tesla’s ability to shift a few thousand extra cars in recent weeks shouldn’t matter so much for the valuation. Investors’ tendency to overreact to Tesla news made more sense when its survival was open to doubt. A year ago it was laying off workers, U.S. sales were slowing and its retail strategy was confused. Senior staff kept heading for the exit. The company was burning through cash and ran pretty low on financial fuel. It had just $2.2 billion of cash in March 2019, compared with more than $8 billion now.But subsequent evidence that Tesla can sell cars for more than it costs to produce them has transformed the mood — and with it Tesla’s stock price.Instead of “killing” off Tesla, the tepid electric offerings of established carmakers such as Audi and Mercedes have only underscored the quality of their rival’s battery and powertrain technology (the same can’t be said of Tesla’s build quality). Volkswagen’s software problems with its forthcoming ID.3 electric vehicle suggest catching Tesla won’t be straightforward, even with the Germans’ vast resources.Tesla’s stratospheric valuation appears to have become self-reinforcing. Should it require more money to fund its roughly $9 billion of capital expenditure over the next three years, it can raise it from shareholders without worrying about diluting them too much.Similarly, holders of more than $4 billion of convertible bonds that Tesla issued to fund its expansion should be happy to convert them into stock, rather than demand cash repayment, taking some of the pressure off the company and its balance sheet. Still, Tesla’s valuation remains impossible to justify by any standard metrics. Analysts’ average price target is more than 40% below the current level. Even Musk has suggested that the share price, which has almost trebled since the start of 2020, is too high — although, as with his taunting of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and his comments about “fascist” lockdowns, it’s usually better to tune out what Musk says and focus on his actions instead. The skeptics might have more faith in Tesla’s new position as the leader of the automaker pack when Musk stops his provocations and his shareholders stop getting giddy over modest good news.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies. He previously worked for the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance Video
What's behind Tesla's big beat on Q2 deliveries
Tesla shares surged after the automaker delivered roughly 90,650 vehicles to customers in the second quarter, exceeding expectations. Yahoo Finance’s On The Move panel discusses.
- Motley Fool
Why Shares of Graf Industrial Are Soaring Today
Shares of Graf Industrial (NYSE: GRAF) gained 20% on Thursday after the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) announced plans to merge with a maker of sensors for self-driving vehicles. The deal would move its merger partner, Velodyne Lidar, onto public markets, joining a host of other companies to use SPACs to go public in recent months. Velodyne Lidar said Thursday it would combine with Graf Industrial to create a company with a pro forma market capitalization of $1.8 billion.
- Yahoo Finance
'It's Tesla's world and everyone else is paying rent': analyst
Here's why Tesla's stock continues to be on fire.
- Motley Fool
Disney Finds New Avenue for Revenue in Partnership With Ford
Entertainment giant Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) has been suffering for the past few months while its parks and experiences were closed, and only a few have recently reopened. Its main revenue driver during the COVID-19 pandemic has been its streaming services, and it's been finding innovative ways to make them more profitable, such as releasing new films straight to streaming. A new partnership with the Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is another path to bringing in much-needed cash.
- Bloomberg
Velodyne Lidar to Go Public In Merger With Blank-Check Firm Graf
(Bloomberg) -- Velodyne Lidar Inc., a maker of sensors for self-driving vehicles backed by Ford Motor Co., has agreed to merge with blank-check company Graf Industrial Corp., according to a statement Thursday.The market value of the combined company will be about $1.8 billion, according to the statement, which confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. New institutional investors and existing Graf Industrial shareholders have committed $150 million to fund the transaction.Velodyne backers including Ford, Baidu Inc., Nikon Corp. and Hyundai Mobis will retain an 80% stake in the combined company. The San Jose-based company will have about $200 million in cash on its balance sheet, and David Hall, Velodyne’s founder, will become executive chairman. Velodyne Chief Executive Officer Anand Gopalan will continue to lead the company.Velodyne creates radar-like systems for self-driving vehicles that use lasers to generate three-dimensional images of a surrounding environment. Its technology is used by carmakers including Mercedes-Benz and Ford, according to its website.Graf Industrial, a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, raised $225 million in an initial public offering in 2018.Merging with a SPAC has become a popular way for companies to go public as the coronavirus pandemic roils the markets, as an alternative to an initial public offering or direct listing. Online gambling company DraftKings Inc., potato chip maker Utz Quality Foods and fitness company F45 Training Holdings Inc. also struck deals with SPACS in recent months.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance Video
Ford, Disney partner for Bronco deal
Yahoo Finance’s Rick Newman joins The First Trade to discuss Ford’s latest partnership with Disney to unveil its Bronco SUV in July.
- Business Wire
Ford Posts Best Retail Share In Five Years – Driven by Ford’s ‘Built for America’ Program And Strong Share Gains Coming From Pickups, Vans, Explorer and Mustang
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) today reported its second quarter 2020 U.S. sales results. Click here or visit media.ford.com to view the news release.
- Business Wire
Ford and Disney Gear Up to Reveal All-New Ford Bronco Family, Across ABC, ESPN, National Geographic and Hulu
Ford Motor Company will reveal the all-new Ford Bronco 4x4 family on Monday, July 13 across Disney’s Media Networks – marking the first-ever, prime-time product reveal roadblock across Disney’s broadcast, cable, digital and streaming properties, including ABC, ESPN, National Geographic and Hulu.
- Yahoo Finance
Despite growing ad boycott, Facebook is too big for many advertisers to ignore
Despite a growing advertising boycott, many companies can't ignore Facebook.
- Reuters
Facebook agrees to audit its hate speech controls
Facebook Inc said on Monday it would submit itself to an audit of how it controls hate speech in a bid to appease a growing advertising boycott of the platform, as it prepared to address a group of advertisers on Tuesday. The move comes as major advertisers such as Unilever and Starbucks have signed on to the "Stop Hate for Profit" campaign started by U.S. civil rights groups, which urges brands to pause their Facebook ads in July to pressure the social media giant to do more to take down hate speech. Media Rating Council (MRC), a media measurement firm, will conduct the audit to evaluate how it protects advertisers from appearing next to harmful content and the accuracy of Facebook's reporting in certain areas.
- Yahoo Finance Video
Facebook sees 250 companies participate in ad boycott
Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi and Jared Blikre speak with Futurum Research Principal Analyst Daniel Newman about what the Facebook ad boycott means for the company’s revenue.
- Reuters
Slumping fleet sales weigh on U.S. auto market
Weak fleet orders are expected to hurt June sales, which automakers will report on Wednesday. Cox Automotive forecasts fleet sales will fall nearly 56% to 1.3 million vehicles after plunging 83% in May and 77% in April. In the short term, fleet sales are not a major concern for automakers focused on ramping up production to beef up anaemic dealer inventories for higher-profit sales to consumers.
- Bloomberg
Microsoft Pauses Facebook, Instagram Advertising Spending
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. has paused global advertising spending on Facebook Inc. and Instagram because of concerns about ads appearing next to inappropriate content, according to a person familiar with the matter.The software giant spent an estimated $116 million in Facebook advertising in 2019, and was the company’s third-largest advertiser last year, according to data from Pathmatics. Microsoft initially halted spending on the sites in the U.S. in May and has now expanded that globally, said the person, who didn’t want to be named discussing internal corporate matters. Axios earlier reported the move, citing comments from Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela in an internal Microsoft message board.Capossela did not immediately return an email asking for comment.A list of companies pulling back spending on Facebook properties is lengthening almost by the minute, part of an exodus aimed at pushing the social network and its peers to limit hate speech and posts that divide and misinform. Starbucks Corp. and Diageo Plc, Ford Motor Co. and HP Inc. are among those who said they are stopping ads on social networks for now.Microsoft’s concerns relate purely to the placement of ads next to certain content and aren’t a statement about Facebook’s policies, the person said.The company has spoken with Facebook and Instagram executives on what steps will be needed to resume spending and expects the advertising halt to be in effect through August.Although it didn’t disclose it publicly at the time, Microsoft was among companies that pulled ads from YouTube in February 2019 amid concerns about child pornography, the person said.(Updates with timing in the sixth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance Video
Fed kicking off primary market corporate credit facility
On Monday, the Federal Reserve made the decision to officially open the doors to the primary market corporate credit facility. Yahoo Finance's Brian Cheung joins The Ticker to discuss.
- Reuters
Ford pauses U.S. social media advertising, calls for hate speech to be 'eradicated' from content
Ford Motor Co said on Monday it would pause advertising on all social media platforms in the United States for the next 30 days, joining a growing list of companies that have stopped spending on Facebook Inc in support of a campaign that called out the company for not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platform. The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it would re-evaluate its presence on all social media platforms and added that hate speech, violence and racial injustice in content on social media "needs to be eradicated." A spokesman said Ford is evaluating such spending in other regions.
- Reuters
Automakers rev up discounts to beat coronavirus sales blues
In the midst of a raging pandemic, Belal Bilto, 26, a sales executive and a Manhattan resident bought a midsize pickup Jeep Gladiator this month for just over $48,000, lured by a discount of about $5,000 on the list price and a seven-year, no-interest loan. U.S. automakers are scheduled to report June and second-quarter car and light truck sales on Wednesday. The second-quarter numbers reflect a peak for the U.S. auto industry's efforts to use consumer discounts, low interest loans and other incentives to prop up demand during the pandemic.
- Bloomberg
U.S.-China Feud Gets Nasty With Red Tape as Stealth Weapon
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and China are moving beyond bellicose trade threats to exchanging regulatory punches that threaten a wide range of industries including technology, energy and air travel.The two countries have blacklisted each other’s companies, barred flights and expelled journalists. The unfolding skirmish is starting to make companies nervous the trading landscape could shift out from under them.“There are many industries where U.S. companies have made long-term bets on China’s future because the market is so promising and so big,” said Myron Brilliant, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s head of international affairs. Now, they’re “recognizing the risk.”China will look to avoid measures that could backfire, said Shi Yinhong, an adviser to the nation’s cabinet and a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. Any sanctions on U.S. companies would be a “last resort” because China “is in desperate need of foreign investment from rich countries for both economic and political reasons.”Nevertheless, pressure is only expected to intensify ahead of the U.S. elections in November, as President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden joust over who will take a tougher line on China.Trump has blamed China for covering up the coronavirus pandemic he has mocked as “Kung Flu,” accused Beijing of “illicit espionage to steal our industrial secrets” and threatened the U.S. could pursue a “complete decoupling” from the country. Biden, likewise, has described President Xi Jinping as a thug, labeled mass detention of Uighur Muslims as unconscionable and accused China of predatory trade practices.And on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats have found rare unity in their opposition to China, with lawmakers eager to take action against Beijing for its handling of Covid-19, forced technology transfers, human rights abuses and its tightening grip on Hong Kong.“China is going to be a punching bag in the campaign,” said Capital Alpha Partners’ Byron Callan. “But China is a punching bag that can punch back.”China has repeatedly rejected U.S. accusations over its handling of the pandemic, Uighurs, Hong Kong and trade, and it has fired back at the Trump administration for undermining global cooperation and seeking to start a “new cold war.” Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month said China had no interest in replacing the U.S. as a hegemonic power, while adding that the U.S. should give up its “wishful thinking” of changing the country.Both sides have already taken a series of regulatory moves aimed at protecting market share.The U.S. is citing security concerns in blocking China Mobile Ltd., the world’s largest mobile operator, from entering the U.S. market. It’s culling Chinese-made drones from government fleets and discouraging the deployment of Chinese transformers on the power grid. The Trump administration has also tried to constrain the global reach of China’s Huawei Technologies Co., the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer.Meanwhile, China prevented U.S. airline flights into the country for more than two months and, after the U.S. imposed visa restrictions on Chinese journalists, it expelled American journalists. It has stepped up its scrutiny of U.S. companies, with China’s state news agency casting one probe as a warning to the White House. China also has long made it difficult for U.S. telecommunications companies to enter its market, requiring overseas operators to co-invest with local firms and requiring authorization by the central government.One of the most combustible flash points has been the Trump administration’s campaign to contain Huawei by seeking to limit the company’s business in the U.S. and push allies to shun its gear in their networks.The U.S. Federal Communications Commission moved to block devices made by Huawei and ZTE Corp. from being used in U.S. networks. And the Commerce Department has placed Huawei on blacklists aimed at preventing the Chinese company from using U.S. technology for the chips that power its network gear, including tech from suppliers Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Inc.After suppliers found work-arounds, Commerce in May tightened rules to bar any chipmaker using American equipment from selling to Huawei without U.S. approval. The step could constrain virtually the entire contract chipmaking industry, which uses equipment from U.S. vendors such as Applied Materials Inc., Lam Research Corp. and KLA Corp. in wafer fabrication plants.The curbs also threaten to cripple Huawei. Although the company can buy off-the-shelf or commodity mobile chips from a third party such as Samsung Electronics Co. or MediaTek Inc., going that route would force it to make costly compromises on performance in basic products.Huawei was on a list the Pentagon unveiled last week of companies it says are owned or controlled by China’s military, opening them to increased scrutiny. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing accused the Trump administration of “violating the very market economy principle the U.S. champions.”“We are strongly opposed to this,” the foreign ministry said Sunday of the Pentagon’s designation. “China urges the U.S. to stop suppressing Chinese companies without reason and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies to operate normally in the U.S.”After the new restrictions, the editor of the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper tweeted that China would retaliate using an “unreliable entities list” that it first threatened at the height of the trade war last year. Although China didn’t identify companies on the list, the Global Times has cited a source close to the Chinese government as saying U.S. bellwethers such as Apple Inc. and Qualcomm could be targeted.The fallout could extend to companies heavily reliant on Chinese supply chains, as well consumer-facing brands eager to expand sales in Asia. Boeing Co., which recorded $5.7 billion of revenue from China in 2019, and Tesla Inc., the biggest U.S. carmaker operating independently in China, are among companies most exposed if relations sour further.“We’re playing in a much wider field now,” said Jim Lucier, managing director of research firm Capital Alpha Partners. “We’re not simply talking about ‘you tariff me’ and ‘I tariff you.’ The playing field is virtually unlimited.”Planes and AutomobilesU.S. automakers have also been singed. In June, China fined Ford Motor Co.’s main joint venture in the country for antitrust violations, saying Changan Ford Automobile Co. had restricted retailers’ sale prices since 2013.Aviation has been another source of tension, as both countries squabble over access to their skies. China’s decision to limit U.S. airlines operations to those services scheduled as of March 12 hurt carriers such as United Airlines Holdings Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc, and American Airlines Group Inc. that had suspended passenger flights to and from China because of the coronavirus pandemic.The U.S. responded earlier this month by initially threatening to ban all flights from China, then relenting to allow two flights weekly once Chinese officials eased their restrictions. Now, in what appears to be a staged de-escalation, China gave U.S. passenger carriers permission to operate four weekly flights to the country and earlier this month, the Trump administration matched the move by also authorizing four flights from Chinese airlines.It’s happening outside of aviation too. Consider the U.S. government’s decision to seize a half-ton, Chinese-made electrical transformer when it arrived at an American port last year and divert the gear to a national lab instead of the Colorado substation where it was supposed to be deployed. That move -- and a May executive order from Trump authorizing the blockade of electric grid gear supplied by “foreign adversaries” of the U.S. in the name of national security -- have already sent shock waves through the power sector.The effect has been to dissuade American utilities from buying Chinese equipment to replace aging components in the nation’s electrical grid, said Jim Cai, the U.S. representative for Jiangsu Huapeng Transformer Co., the company whose delivery was seized. Although Cai said the firm has supplied parts to private utilities and government-run grid operators in the U.S. for nearly 15 years without security complaints, at least one American utility has since canceled a transformer award to the company, Cai said.Trump’s directive is tied to a broader effort to bring more manufacturing to the U.S. from China. “This is a part of the administration’s efforts to impair China’s supply chains into the United States,” said former White House adviser Mike McKenna.Escalating tensions could jeopardize the U.S. economic recovery as well as China’s trade commitment to buy $200 billion in American goods and services over the next two years. The country’s purchase of U.S. goods increased last month as the economy continued its recovery from the coronavirus shutdowns, but imports are still far behind the pace needed to meet the terms of the phase one trade deal, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from China’s Customs Administration.U.S.-China struggles also may factor into the November presidential election. Former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton alleges in a new book that Trump asked Xi to help him win re-election by buying more farm products -- a claim the White House has dismissed as untrue.“I don’t expect one single blow to send this relationship in a tailspin,” the chamber’s Brilliant said. “Each side will calibrate their reactions in a way that will not tip the scales too far.”Take the recent spat over media access. After the U.S. designated five Chinese media companies as “foreign missions,” China revoked press credentials for three Wall Street Journal staff members over an article with a headline describing China as the “real sick man of Asia.”Then the Trump administration ordered Chinese state-owned news outlets to slash staff working in the U.S. Beijing responded in March by effectively expelling more than a dozen U.S. journalists working in China.Both the U.S. and China have ample opportunities to ratchet up regulatory pressure. A bill passed by the Senate last month could prompt the delisting of Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges if American officials aren’t allowed to review their financial audits.And last week, as the U.S. State Department imposed visa bans on Chinese Communist Party officials accused of infringing the freedom of Hong Kong citizens, a senior official made clear the move was just an opening salvo in a campaign to force Beijing to back off new restrictions on the city.China, similarly, can slow licensing decisions and regulatory approvals, launch investigations under its anti-monopoly law and squeeze financial firms that want to do business in the country. For instance, the country could rescind pledges to let U.S. financial firms take controlling stakes in Chinese investment banking joint ventures, according to a Cowen analyst.“China will not make any significant compromise and will retaliate whenever and wherever possible,” said Shi, the Renmin University professor.Companies are still lured to China and its massive local market -- and tensions with the U.S. don’t overcome the Asian superpower’s appeal. Just one-fifth of companies surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in China late last year said they had moved or were considering moving some operations outside of the country, part of a three-year downward trend.But the coronavirus pandemic has subsequently pushed more companies to reckon with the risks of relying too heavily on any single country for their supply chains, amid existing concerns about forced technology transfers, cost and rising tensions that could damp investment in China.China is no longer the lowest-cost manufacturer, and companies are more reluctant to invest there, said James Lewis, director of the Technology Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.“Everyone would like to be in the China market -- everyone wants it to be like 2010 -- but things are changing.”(Updates with trade data in 28th paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
Ford (F) Unveils Revamped F-150 With Hybrid V6 Powertrain
Ford's (F) all-new F-150, which is now in its 14th generation, will deliver more payload and towing capability, torque, horsepower and comfort.
- Bloomberg
Nikola Sells $5,000 Reservations for Truck With No Prototype
(Bloomberg) -- Even in the innovative world of electric vehicles, it’s an unusual proposition: Plunk down as much as $5,000 now to reserve the right in a few years to buy a battery-powered truck, before seeing a prototype or manufacturing plan to assure it’ll ever be built.That’s what Nikola Corp., the Phoenix-based company whose sudden stock surge has captured the attention of investors, is asking customers to do starting Monday. The reservations, which are refundable, take a page from Tesla Inc.’s playbook, but they require would-be vehicle buyers to take an even bigger leap of faith than Elon Musk ever did.Nikola founder Trevor Milton has said he hopes the truck, called the Badger, will one day rival Ford Motor Co.’s F-150, which for 43 years has been America’s best-selling pickup. Nikola went public on June 4 through a reverse merger, and the stock more than doubled on June 8 after he tweeted that Nikola would start taking reservations on June 29 for what he called “the most bad a-- zero emission truck.”Nikola told prospective investors before going public that its focus was on producing a different type of vehicle -- big rig semi trucks starting with a model called the Tre. In a March filing, the company said it didn’t expect to draw up plans for the Badger pickup unless an established manufacturer agreed to make it.Nikola will have more details to share this summer about its Badger manufacturing partnership, Colleen Robar, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an email. Investors haven’t registered any concerns about Nikola’s unorthodox approach to vehicle sales. The shares closed Friday at $63.55, up 87% since their listing, and rose as much as 7.4% shortly after the start of regular trading Monday. At $22.9 billion, Nikola’s market capitalization at the close Friday was just short of the $23.5 billion valuation for Ford, which unveiled its next-generation F-150 pickup last week.Read more: Nikola Founder Has $7.4 Billion Fortune on Free Truck OrdersTesla has accepted reservations for models before the company started production, including for this year’s new Model Y SUV. But customers at least had a prototype to look at, and Musk has now marketed five different vehicles. Nikola doesn’t expect to start delivering its first semi truck to customers until next year. It has a joint venture with CNH Industrial NV, whose Iveco unit has been building big rigs for decades, to manufacture the Tre in Germany.Nikola’s plan to work with manufacturing partners is a contrast with Tesla, which went through what Musk repeatedly referred to as “production hell” trying to mass-produce the Model 3 with its own factory. Cowen & Co. analyst Jeffery Osborne said in a June 17 report that Nikola’s outsourcing strategy could mitigate risk.So far, Nikola has shared only computer renderings of the Badger, and has said it will cost between $60,000 and $90,000. Milton predicts it’ll be a hit. “Most likely it’ll be sold out, so be ready and gets yours reserved,” he tweeted on June 15.Interested buyers have to pay close attention to Milton on social media, where details about the Badger come out in drips and drabs. Milton tweeted on June 8 that he expects deliveries of the Badger to begin in 2022, but exact details would be laid out in a partnership announcement before an event he called nikolaworld2020.Eleven days later, he announced that Nikola World would take place in December -- about five months after Nikola starts taking reservations for the Badger. It will be unveiled on Dec. 4.(Updates with shares trading in the sixth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
Auto Stock Roundup: CMI-NPROXX JV, GT-Lordstown Motors Alliance & More
While Cummins (CMI) teams up with NPROXX for hydrogen storage tanks, Goodyear Tire (GT) and Lordstown Motors partner for tires and services.
- Zacks
US Auto Sector Braces for Upheaval on California's EV Target
While there is much opposition by the industry groups for California's zero-emissions truck mandate, there are a number of automakers who have been taking the EV plans seriously.
