Tesla makes cryptic announcement, stock jumps. What can the company reveal?

Electric car manufacturer Tesla has published two videos in social network X, which hint at an important announcement on October 7. In the first video, the Tesla logo rotates, at the end the numbers 10/7 appear (in the U.S. they traditionally write the month first, then the number), in the second video the car headlights shine in the dark, and only they are visible. Both videos are published without any captions.

Tesla thus hinted at the event, which will be held on October 7, according to Reuters. Investors and analysts expect the company to unveil a more affordable electric car model that will help support demand, the agency noted.

At the premarket on Oct. 6, shares of the Elon Musk-led company were up nearly 2%.

Tesla has in the past delayed the launch of a cheaper version of the Model Y in the United States, Reuters writes. In June, it said it had assembled the first samples of the car, but would not start sales until the fourth quarter, with production ramping up gradually and more slowly than planned.

According to Reuters' sources, the simplified version will be about 20 percent cheaper to produce than this year's refreshed Model Y, and output could reach about 250,000 units per year in the U.S. by 2026.

Tesla on Oct. 2 reported record quarterly deliveries for the three months ending in September. The sales growth was driven by a surge in electric car purchases ahead of the expiration of the U.S. tax credit.

The teaser videos came just after the expiration of the $7500 U.S. tax credit for electric cars. This change may affect buyer behavior and force Tesla to rethink its pricing strategy, Reuters specifies.

According to MarketWatch, Tesla shares were rated by 50 analysts. Of these, 23 recommend buying the electric car maker's securities (Buy and Overweight), 16 recommend holding (Hold), and another 11 recommend selling (Underweight and Sell). The consensus target price is $351.96, which implies a decline of about 18% from the closing level on Friday, October 3.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor