In recent months, the market has been particularly prone to wavering based on political he-said, she-said in regards to the trade deal with China. Today's political atmosphere in the Information Age have made it possible for one single tweet from President Trump to raise or lower market indexes by several points. As negotiations with China have become increasingly unpredictable, Tesla has shown that the company's solid infrastructure and proper planning will reduce potential strain.
As of 12:00pm EST, Tesla ($TSLA) shares traded at $334.00 per share, up 1.23% from today's open; as compared to the S&P 500, which weighed in at $3,119.33, down 0.69% from today's open.
Tesla has made some interesting moves in the past few months. The company began production last month in their new facility: Gigafactory 3, an enormous assembly plant in Shanghai, used for making the famous Model 3, as well as battery cells for the company's other products. Shifting part of the Model 3 production to China has proven to carry a huge advantage. Among all the trade war scuttlebutt, China implemented a 15% tariff on all foreign-made cars. Due to impeccable timing and planning, Tesla is now able to avoid this 15% tariff, and Chinese buyers are even eligible for a government rebate worth around $3,500 USD for buying a locally made electric vehicle, allowing for extremely competitive pricing within the Chinese EV market.
Tesla is also notorious for its philosophy of in-house production. Tesla seldom sources its major automotive or solar components from other companies (aside from their production agreement with Japanese battery and electronics maker Panasonic). Tesla manufactures nearly every major component of their cars, adding to the company's value and potential, and allowing for a unique trait in today's business world: a lack of dependence on foreign markets for production, particularly China.
If there is one thing that markets hate, it is unsurety. Tesla's lack of dependence on foreign parts manufacturers gives Tesla a rallying reassurance, despite uncertainty in foreign trade agreements. Tesla has proved itself nearly immune to petty politics and ominous headlines, instead gaining and losing on its own merit.
In the coming months, one can expect big news from Tesla. Projects have been ahead of schedule, a new factory was announced in Germany to provide for the booming European market, and Tesla's solar and energy division is growing rapidly. Of the latter, Elon Musk said in November 2019, "In the long term, I expect Tesla Energy to be of the same or roughly the same size as Tesla's automotive sector or business... Tesla Energy is, I think, the least appreciated element."
Tesla is pushing hard despite the dodgy trade deals. One can assume Tesla stock would be a relatively safe choice in the event of a recession. In the event that all goes south in the negotiations, Tesla has proven that they can and will find productive solutions in both the short- and long-term. All this, and the best is yet to come.
