Tag: TSLA – Tesla

I met VegTech™ Invest CEO, Elysabeth Alfano at the 2023 ESG for Impact Conference, where she made a strong case for investing in food and agricultural systems innovation as a method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental harms.  I wanted to learn more about the specific innovative companies she thinks are worth investing in, and so I interviewed her and VegTech™ Invest Chief Investment Officer, Dr. Sasha Goodman about these themes.  The interview follows.   Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA - Editor  Q: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.  To begin with, can you tell us what VegTech™...

By Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA The market for reliable back-up power in homes and businesses is booming. With more people working from home and increasing news coverage of power outages due to severe weather events and public safety power shutoffs in California (not to mention domestic terrorism), power reliability seems like it’s destined for a long term boom. New Competition A decade ago, if you wanted backup power, a generator was the only option.  Now, there are an increasing number of battery-based alternatives beginning to compete with generators to provide back-up power.  While most battery-based solutions are better than gas or propane generators...

If you want your money to help with the transition to the clean energy economy, most investment advisors will probably try to accommodate by finding a few green mutual funds for you. There are now hundreds of mutual funds and ETFs that brand themselves as green, but many will not meet your definition of what is "green." This could mean not being completely divested from fossil fuels, investing in nuclear power, or owning too much of non-fossil fuel stocks like Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB) and not enough green-focused  companies like Tesla (TSLA). An investment advisor who does not consider values...

by Paula Mints In July, Unprofitable residential solar lease company Sunrun (RUN) announced that it would acquire its unprofitable competitor, Vivint Solar (VSLR). Each share of Vivint stock will be exchanged for .55 shares of Sunrun’s common stock. Sunrun indicated that there were great synergies between the two companies. Comment: Remember when Tesla (TSLA) adopted Solar City, a company founded by Elon Musk’s cousin? Sorry – remember when Tesla acquired money-losing Solar City and claimed strong growth and profits would follow? Great synergies. A wonderful future. Rainbows, kittens, and a profitable solar future for all. The residential solar lease and residential PPA offers...

by Paula Mints Walmart takes on Tesla Solar for Poor Quality Installations and Components Early in August, after several quarters of slowing sales, Tesla (TSLA) announced a restart of its residential solar lease, referring to it as solar system rentals. Around the same timeframe, Tesla stated that it had no timeline for the availability of its solar tiles. On August 20, Walmart (WMT) filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Tesla/SolarCity in the commercial division of the New York State Supreme court claiming “years of gross neglect” leading to several fires at its facilities. According to court documents, one fire took place after...

by Debra Fiakas, CFA Market share for lithium technology has been extended by another 22 megawatts with the selection of lithium-based batteries by Duke Energy (DUK:  NYSE) for three separate of power facilities operated by Duke Energy Florida.  Duke did not specify the source of the lithium-based batteries, but the company seems to have an affinity for Tesla’s (TSLA:  Nasdaq) battery products.  Last year Duke Energy with its partner University of South Florida chose Tesla’s lithium-based batteries for a 100-kilowatt solar project in St. Petersburg, Florida. Application of lithium-based technology in a relatively small, microgrid application like that in St. Petersburg is no surprise.  Lithium-based batteries offer high energy...

There is a clutch of self-driving cars and cars with autonomous driving features on the market today.  Drivers just cannot seem to get enough of them.  Apparently, the idea of zooming down the highway with little to no responsibility holds considerable appeal.  Then again, maybe it is the novelty of the idea that will eventually give way to the next fad. In August 2018, Cox Automotive revealed the results of a survey that found fewer Americans are embracing self-driving technology than previously thought.  A surprising 49% of respondents said they would NEVER own a fully-autonomous car.  This is up from 30% naysayers two years ago. Views...

by Paula Mints In 2018, the US market for PV deployment is estimated at ~12-GWp. As the US does not have sufficient domestic cell manufacturing capacity to meet its demand, most of the 12-GWp will be met by imports of cells or, modules. Following the implementation of cell/module tariffs there were, as expected, new capacity announcements in the US, primarily for module assembly. If all the current announcements came true it would add an additional 4.2-GWp of module assembly and 1.7-GWp of cell manufacturing (thin film and crystalline) capacity to the US. First Solar (FSLR) is responsible for 1.3-GWp of the new module assembly and...

by Paula Mints First Solar (FSLR) offered a great lesson about the announcing of plans (man plans, god laughs) in July when during its Q2 release call it discussed the yield problems slowing commercial production of it’s Series 6 large format module. The production delays are due to a single point of failure causing a bottleneck. First Solar expects to enter volume production with its Series 6 module early in 2019. Muted-kudos to First Solar for discussing a not-so-secret problem with Series 6 production. The kudos are muted because if the company had been more circumspect in the first place there...

Graphite is the most widely used material for battery anodes.  The anode is the positively charged electron collector in a battery.  It collects and accelerates the electronics emitted by the battery’s cathode.  Graphite gets the anode job because it is has excellent electric conductivity and resists heat and corrosion.  Plus it is light weight, soft and malleable. As satisfied as manufacturers might be with graphite anodes, none would balk at an alternative material that boosts battery performance or reduces cost.  Scientists believe battery capacity can be increased as much as ten times by using silicon for anodes.  It requires six atoms of carbon to bind one...

Electric Vehicle (EV) and Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PHEV) stocks are publicly traded companies which produce EVs or PHEVs, their components, or charging infrastructure. This list was last updated on 6/3/22. AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) Blink Charging Co. (BLNK) BYD Company, Ltd. (BYDDY) Enova Systems, Inc. (ENVS) EEStor Corporation (ZNNMF) Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp. (SOLO) Envision Solar International (EVSI) EVgo, Inc. (EVGO) Fisker (FSR) GreenPower Motor Co. (GPV.V) iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF (IDRV) Kandi Technologies Corp. (KNDI) KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF (KARS) Leo Motors (LEOM) Lordstown Motors Corp. (RIDE) Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NVTS) Nio Inc. (NIO) Nikola Corporation (NKLA) Proterra Inc. (PTRA) Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA) UQM Technologies (UQM) Valeo SA (FR.PA, VLEEF, VLEEY) Vision Marine Technologies Inc. (VMAR) VMoto Limited...

by Daryl Roberts DC Fast Chargers (DCFCs) and Tesla superchargers are a key element in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure that could facilitate wider adoption of EVs by enabling recharging that comes to resemble the time currently taken for gas station stops, and thereby reducing “range anxiety” for drivers. However, the pricing structure for electrical costs incurred at commercial DC fast chargers is currently prohibitive, because it includes a special fee called a “demand charge”. Rate design in a number of states includes this additional charge, based on the “peak rate” on electric power consumed in kW. In New York,...

Residential solar stocks are publicly traded companies that develop, install, finance, or own solar systems for single and multi-family residences. See also the list of Solar Farm Owner and Developer Stocks, the list of Solar Manufacturing Stocks, and the list of solar and wind inverter stocks. This post was last updated on 7/14/21.   Guggenheim Global Solar ETF (TAN) RGS Energy (RGSE) Solar Alliance Energy, Inc (SOLR.V) Sunlight Financial Holdings Inc. (SUNL) Sunrun, Inc. (RUN) Sunworks, Inc. (SUNW) Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) Vivint Solar (VSLR) If you know of any residential solar stock that is not listed here and should be, please let us know by leaving a comment. Also for stocks in the...

Efficient vehicle stocks are publicly traded companies that produce technologies allow cars, trucks, aircraft and ships to travel the same distance and carry the same loads using less fuel.  Includes electric and hybrid electric vehicles, as well as other improvements that reduce fuel use.  Similar to Alternative Transportation stocks, which reduce overall fuel use by shifting passengers or freight to more efficient types of vehicles. This list was last updated on 8/24/21. AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) Aptiv PLC (APTV) BorgWarner (BWA) Blink Charging Co. (BLNK) BYD Company, Ltd. (BYDDY) CDTI Advanced Materials, Inc. (CDTI) CPS Technologies Corp. (CPSH) Enova Systems, Inc. (ENVS) EEStor Corporation (ZNNMF) Elio Motors, Inc. (ELIO) Evolve Funds Automobile...

by Kyle Pennell Back in late 2016, Tesla (TSLA) moved to acquire SolarCity, a solar panel manufacturer and installer. Shortly thereafter, the electric automaker revealed why: it had developed a new residential solar product, the solar roof. While it looked like any other home roof, the tiles that composed the roof actually contained solar cells. An individual roof tile won’t produce much energy, but when linked with others in sequence, the tiles can potentially generate power equal to that of regular solar panels. But while Tesla’s solar roof energized the solar industry, it was hardly revolutionary. At the time of Tesla’s unveiling...