What happened

There have been several market dynamics influencing the stocks of electric vehicle makers this week. Some are company-specific, but others are macroeconomic and geopolitical. The end result has been a jump in shares of electric semi truck start-up Nikola (NKLA 7.23%). As of early Friday trading, Nikola stock was more than 15% higher for the week, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

So what

This week's move in the share price brings Nikola's gains over the past two weeks to about 30%. Some of the same things that caused a surge in the stock last week continued to help this week. One additional bit of news was that the company is asking shareholders to approve an additional 200 million shares for the company to raise capital as it ramps up production of its electric trucks. 

grey and black Nikola electric semi tractor trailer.

Image source: Nikola.

Now what

Tailwinds from last week that continued into this week included the shift higher in oil prices as the resolution of Russia's war in Ukraine remains uncertain. Higher oil prices tend to push people more toward alternative energy investments. 

That also comes as the company itself is just beginning commercial sales of its battery electric trucks. Nikola expects to deliver between 300 and 500 of its Tre battery-powered trucks to customers in 2022, which the company said would generate revenue of between $90 million and $150 million.

Now the company wants shareholders to approve an additional 200 million shares to provide capital for the ramping up of this production. If approved at its shareholder meeting scheduled for June 1, the additional shares would raise about $1.7 billion at the recent price. 

Though the additional shares would dilute existing shareholders, it wasn't an unexpected move. In the company's fourth-quarter earnings call with investors Feb. 24, chief financial officer Kim Brady said: "We plan to make sure we always have adequate liquidity to fund the next 12 months of operations throughout 2022. We will monitor the equity capital markets closely and raise additional capital when appropriate in 2022."

Investors seem to approve the plan for new capital to get the company's products to market and bring meaningful revenue into the business.