Stock in electric vehicle (EV) icon Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has had an astonishing start to 2023, recovering much of its 2022 losses within six weeks.
It tumbled 65% last year as soaring inflation drove interest rates higher and celebrity CEO (read: Technoking) Elon Musk staged a dramatic US$44 billion takeover of Twitter.
Tesla stock last traded at US$207.32.
That's a far cry from its final close of 2021 – US$352.26 – but a whopping 68% higher than it ended 2022 – US$123.81.
So, what's been bolstering the tech giant's share price so far this year? Let's take a look.
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Why has Tesla stock soared into the new year?
The first six weeks of 2023 haven't been entirely easy for those invested in Tesla stock. Though, it's ultimately been a fruitful year so far.
The company started the year out on arguably the wrong foot, announcing it had delivered a potentially eye-popping 1.3 million EVs in 2022. But, despite marking a new record, that figure fell short of Musk's previous pledge to increase deliveries by 50% annually.
Musk also faced a legal challenge in recent weeks, with a group of Tesla shareholders taking the billionaire to court on allegations he misled investors by tweeting that he was taking the company private in 2018. A jury cleared Musk of any wrongdoing, the Guardian reports.
But it wasn't the win that's seemingly sent Tesla stock rocketing in 2023. It's leapt nearly 44% since the company dropped its quarterly results on 25 January.
Tesla posted US$1.19 of adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for the three months ended December, beating average analyst expectations of US$1.13, The Motley Fool reports. Meanwhile, its revenue for the quarter leapt 37% year-on-year to US$24.3 billion.
That saw its full-year unaudited adjusted EPS come in at US$4.07 while its revenue soared 51% to around US$81.5 billion. Its profits also nearly doubled to reach US$12.6 billion.
Not to mention, investors are likely looking forward to Tesla's next earnings release after it announced it's cutting 20% from the cost of its Model 3 and Model Y in the United States and Europe last month, my Fool colleague Mitch reports.
