What happened
Shares of Tesla (TSLA 0.66%) were up by more than 3% soon after the market opened Tuesday, but as of 1 p.m. ET, the shares were up by about 0.8%. The stock moved higher after a Reuters article reported that the electric vehicle leader could begin mass production of its Cybertruck by the end of 2023.
Also boosting Tesla's stock price was a report Monday from JPMorgan Chase's top market strategist predicting that the Federal Reserve could be nearly finished with its interest rate hikes. Rising interest rates have weighed on tech stock valuations throughout 2022, and Tesla is down 35% year to date.
So what
CEO Elon Musk previously said that the Cybertruck could be the company's "best product ever." He originally unveiled the vehicle in 2019, but delays have pushed back its production. On the third-quarter earnings call in October, Musk said the company was in the "final lap" with the Cybertruck.
The matter of securing enough batteries had been one concern as the company looked to manufacture the truck at production scale, but Musk said in January that batteries likely wouldn't be the limiting factor. Instead, he noted, the main issue was that it would "take some time to work through" all the advanced technology going into it. He also pointed to the challenge of making the vehicles available at affordable prices. It appears Tesla may have solved those issues.
Now what
Musk wants his company to manufacture at least 250,000 Cybertrucks per year, but it will take time to bring production up to that level. For perspective, Tesla produced more than 1.2 million vehicles over the last four quarters across its four currently available models.
The arrival on the market of perhaps the most highly anticipated vehicle in years, along with plateauing interest rates, could be huge catalysts for the top electric vehicle maker in the near term.
