Die-hard Tesla investors might be forgiven for wondering why the thrill of owning the iconic car maker’s stock has seemingly disappeared.
After all, since catapulting over 700 per cent last year, the shares have barely eked out a 3.4 per cent advance in 2021. Meme stocks like GameStop have pushed Tesla out of the limelight, while Bitcoin has attracted almost all the buzz.
But the electric-vehicle juggernaut’s first-quarter results on Monday might be just the thing to change all that.
Since reporting surprisingly strong deliveries for the first three months of the year, expectations are running high. And Tesla also needs to convince investors it can hold onto its lead in the EV market in an increasingly crowded playing field. As a result, traders are pricing in a jolt to the shares. Options pricing suggests Tesla’s stock may fluctuate 7.2 per cent in either direction, which would be the largest post-earnings move since January last year.
“We acknowledge Tesla has shaken up the auto industry, but recent commitments and advancements from incumbent auto makers such as Volkswagen and General Motors suggest to us that Tesla has achieved peak market share within the EV category,” Jeffrey Osborne, an analyst at Cowen, wrote in a note earlier this month.
Legacy auto makers in the US and Europe have announced ambitious plans this year to enter the EV race, ranging from everyday sedans to SUVs and luxury supercars. And while billionaire Elon Musk’s company has a significant edge over its competitors in terms of technology, software and brand awareness, its position could start to erode fast as more rivals join the fray.
“Tesla sees itself as the apex player during the most formative phase of the industrialisation of sustainable propulsion and transition off of fossil fuels,” Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a note on Thursday. He added the company would need to address issues surrounding sustainably sourced battery manufacturing and supply chain.
The immediate priority is to expand capacity and begin “industrialising the ‘Tesla hegemony’ before the market gets even more crowded”, Mr Jonas wrote.
Investors will also be eager to get more details on Tesla’s plants in Germany and Austin, Texas, as well as any clues on how demand for its cars is shaping up this year. Tesla has not provided a delivery target for 2021, although it has hinted at a range of about 750,000 units.
There’s also the risk that as more traditional auto makers produce EVs, they’ll need to buy fewer regulatory credits from Tesla to stay compliant with emissions rules. That could eat into a source of Tesla’s revenue, which, while small, has tended to disproportionately bolster profits since there are no costs associated with them.
“Even in its first profitable year of 2020, adjusted pre-tax income was less than the earnings from selling credits to auto makers that can’t build pickups and SUVs fast enough,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kevin Tynan said. “The irony is that despite all the EV hype, legacy auto makers are making so much money from selling internal combustion pickup trucks and SUVs that it has made Tesla look profitable.”
Overarching issues aside, the recent fatal crash of a Model S car in Texas is also bound to get some airtime on the earnings call, as analysts try to dissect why the accident happened and whether the company’s driver assistance system, called AutoPilot, was involved in any way.
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3E6pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Marfa%20Deira%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(Dirt)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wadheha%2C%20Bernardo%20Pinheiro%20(jockey)%2C%20Majed%20Al%20Jahouri%20(trainer)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.35pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20Creek%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBarq%20Al%20Emarat%2C%20Bernardo%20Pinheiro%2C%20Ismail%20Mohammed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.10pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMina%20Hamriya%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh95%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tahdeed%2C%20Dane%20O%E2%80%99Neill%2C%20Michael%20Costa%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.45pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mina%20Rashid%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C900m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeyaasi%2C%20Xavier%20Ziani%2C%20Salem%20bin%20Ghadayer%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.20pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAl%20Garhoud%20Sprint%20DP%20World%20%E2%80%93%20Listed%20(TB)%20Dh132%2C500%20(D)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mouheeb%2C%20Ray%20Dawson%2C%20Michael%20Costa%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.55pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mirdiff%20Stakes%20Jebel%20Ali%20Port%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(TB)%20Dh120%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seyouff%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Michael%20Costa%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E9.30pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jebel%20Ali%20Free%20Zone%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh95%2C000%20(D)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAjuste%20Fiscal%2C%20Jose%20da%20Silva%2C%20Julio%20Olascoaga%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
The First Monday in May
Director: Andrew Rossi
Starring: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, John Paul Gaultier, Rihanna
Three stars
2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
RoboCop%3A%20Rogue%20City
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETeyon%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENacon%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20Xbox%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20PC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
