F-150 Lightning Price Cut: A Boon for Tesla?
Since the week of Independence Day earlier this month, bullish sentiment has settled into the market. That continued through today’s initial day of trading to start the week, even as we had few earnings or economic reports to guide it along. The Dow’s performance was most tepid, as has been the case most of the year, +76 points or +0.22%. This is followed by the S&P 500, which is up +2.4% over the last week of trading, +0.38% today. The Nasdaq put up another +131 points on the session, +0.93% (+4.1% since this time a week ago) while the small-cap Russell 2000 grabbed the brass ring, +1.05% on the day.
This broadening of the mini bull run we’ve been on is most apparent on the Russell, which had spent March through May flat for the year, and has sprung forward ever since. Small-caps catching a bid erases the narrative that only mega-caps — or AI-related stocks, or Tech in general — are driving gains on Wall Street. Since the summer began, this is provably not the case. Can we finally do away with the adage “Sell in May and go away”?
We’re still a couple days removed from Tesla’s TSLA Q2 earnings report this week, where the electric vehicle (EV) leader is expected to bring in a robust +47% on its top line. But shares gained +3% today on news out of Ford F, which announced it is lowering the price of its F-150 Lightning EV pickup truck, by $6K-$10K, depending on the model. This may bode well for Tesla’s fortunes through Q2 as it remains in command of the EV market for at least another quarter.
For the F-150 Lightning — the EV version of the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for more than a decade — Ford is slashing prices on its base model by 17%, from just under $60K to just under $50K. Pricing on its Platinum model is coming down $6000 to around $92K (which likely still prices out many current F-150 owners). This looks like a clear move to attract new customers. As a result, Ford shares dipped -6% on the day, and took down GM GM and Rivian RIVN by -3% each.
Tomorrow morning, Retail Sales, Industrial Production/Capacity Utilization, Business Inventories and a new Home Builder Confidence survey will hit the tape, along with more Q2 earnings from big banks like Bank of America BAC and Morgan Stanley MS, as well as defense firm Lockheed Martin LMT and toys & hobbies mainstay Hasbro HAS. And we only pic up from there — we expect stronger catalysts for market activity as the week progresses.
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