What happened
Tesla (TSLA 1.08%) has been on the receiving end of criticism, ranging from U.S. politicians attacking CEO Elon Musk's wealth to competitor commercials during last weekend's Super Bowl. But Tesla bulls continue to brush off much of the denunciation, and shares were up 4.3% today, as of 12:23 p.m. ET.
So what
Investor confidence may be coming from several areas today. One report from Tesla follower Drive Tesla Canada has evidence that the company's new gigafactory in Texas may be very close to its first customer deliveries. On another front that may be helping squelch critics of Musk's level of wealth, Reuters reported that he donated $5.74 billion in Tesla stock to charity in November 2021, during the time he was selling shares for what he said was related to taxes and stock option awards.
Image source: Tesla.
Musk still retained 21.2% ownership in Tesla with more than 230 million shares, as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made earlier this week.
Now what
Along with word of the goodwill from Musk came the report that Tesla Model Y SUVs were spotted leaving the company's new Texas manufacturing facility on a car carrier Monday morning. An official report of a successful start-up for the Texas facility will be welcome news for investors.
Tesla has predicted that it will grow vehicle-delivery volumes by about 50% annually for several more years. That will be aided substantially by the company's new factories in Texas and Germany.
When the company itself announces these facilities are in production status, it will likely also give a boost to the stock. Though today, some Tesla watchers may have beat them to the punch, and the stock is reacting accordingly.
