Tesla Motors Inc Up On Roadster News; GoPro Inc, A Short Squeeze?

Updated on

Tesla Motors and GoPro led the early morning rise in tech stocks today with shares of Tesla rising more than 2% and GoPro shares climbing as much as 4% in early trading. Tesla stock is probably edging upward due to an update on the automaker’s plans for upgrading its Roadster.

It remains unclear exactly why GoPro stock continued to climb today, although there are a couple of possibilities.

Tesla updates Roadster plans

The Roadster was Tesla’s very first car. It was revealed last week that the automaker was planning to upgrade the vehicle, which currently isn’t in production, as the EV maker has been focusing on producing its Model S sedan.

Tesla is reportedly planning to upgrade the range of its Roadster to 400 miles. That’s an increase of about two-thirds, according to CNN Money. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted the news on Christmas Day, promising more details today:

Musk added that the upgraded battery pack isn’t coming soon for the Model S but that it will happen at some point in the long term.

GoPro extends this week’s gains

Shares of GoPro climbed more than 4% this morning, extending the gains it has earned this week which have pushed shares from about $54 per share up to higher than $68 a share. This week alone, the stock has climbed more than 25% with very little news to which these gains can be attributed. It was reported this week though that sales of the company’s cameras seem to be going extremely well and could surprise in the next earnings report.

Another suggestion comes from Business Insider, which notes that short interest in GoPro is extremely high, with 41% of its shares being sold short as of the last count. BI’s Sam Ro suggests this week’s gains are the result of a short squeeze. Shares of the action camera maker’s stock have been highly volatile since the initial public offering over the summer. In October, shares climbed to more than $98 apiece before plummeting.

It should also be noted, however, that major stock market indices in the U.S. keep setting new highs as well. The S&P 500 rose 9 points to 2,091, while the Dow climbed 66 points, hitting 18,096.

Leave a Comment