Last week, Tesla (TSLA) shares rebounded sharply after the company wanted shareholders to consider its prospects in the artificial intelligence robotics space. Unfortunately, the US auto safety regulators are probing Tesla’s autonomous vehicle safeguards.
Regulators are investigating Tesla’s recall of over 2 million vehicles announced last Dec. 2023. Telsa’s software updates are potentially insufficient. The agency has concerns that after the Autopilot update, 20 crashes followed. This undermines Tesla’s push to launch a robotaxi in August 2024.
Last Friday, a government notice showed that Tesla would cut 693 employees at its Nevada facilities.
China Recovery on Watch
On Sat. April 27, China posted that industrial profits fell by 4.3% to $207.0 billion. The decline from the 10.2% increase in Jan. to Feb. is a concern. It suggests that manufacturers face increasing pressures to generate profits. They may shed assets and increase their liabilities to adjust for the weaker activity. Readers may speculate that activity in the Chinese electric vehicle is increasing. Xiaomi is aggressively selling EVs and losing at least $3,000 per unit. Conversely, the technology sector may have better prospects.
China wants its domestic firms like Huawei to thrive. This increases industrial activity. Should investors become more optimistic, watch technology giants like JD, China Mobile, Alibaba (BABA), and Tencent (TCEHY).
