Tesla’s critical court victory for Full Self-Driving: This week in EVs

Investing.com -- Here is your weekly Pro Recap of the past week's biggest headlines in the electric vehicle space: Tesla wins autopilot court battle; BP Pulse makes $100M deal; and China EVs report October delivery numbers.

As always, InvestingPro users got these headlines at lightning speed. Never miss another opportunity to secure an edge for your portfolio.

Tesla wins crucial case for Full Self-Driving

On Tuesday, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) celebrated a pivotal victory: its first win in a U.S. trial concerning accusations that its Autopilot feature caused a fatal accident. Amid numerous ongoing legal battles, this win bears immense significance for the company.

The lawsuit alleged that the Autopilot system led to a fatal crash involving Micah Lee's Model 3, which veered off a Los Angeles highway, accelerating to 65 miles per hour before colliding with a palm tree and catching fire.

Following four days of deliberation, the 12-member jury, voting 9-3, concluded that no manufacturing defect was evident in the vehicle. This verdict follows Tesla's earlier triumph in a Los Angeles trial regarding a non-fatal accident, in which the company successfully emphasized its warnings about the need for human supervision despite the suggestive names "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving."

Jurors who spoke of the verdict after the trial stated that the automaker provided adequate warnings about the system and attributed the accident to distracted driving.

Shares of TSLA ended trading Friday at $219.96, up 6.1% for the week.

Chinese automakers report October results

The electric vehicle market in China is witnessing a flurry of activity as industry players announce their delivery results for the month of October.

Tesla, though facing a 2.6% month-on-month drop in October deliveries of its China-made electric vehicles, remains steadfast in its sales-focused strategy. Despite recent market-share declines and production constraints, the company launched an upgraded Model 3 in September, anticipating a turnaround.

Conversely, Chinese automakers Li Auto (HK:2015) (NASDAQ:LI) and Xpeng (HK:9868)(NYSE:XPEV) have seen robust growth. Li Auto achieved a landmark 302.1% year-on-year delivery increase, surpassing 40,000 monthly deliveries for the first time, while XPeng recorded a record high of 20,002 units delivered, highlighting the success of its Smart EV line and unveiling ambitious plans for its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS).

XPeng also introduced the futuristic XPENG X9, set to debut at Auto Guangzhou 2023.

Nio (HK:9866) (NYSE:NIO) experienced a 3% monthly increase, delivering 16,074 vehicles in October. Despite a slight decline in SUV sales, its sedan sales surged by 21%, demonstrating resilience in a competitive market. However, analysts expect NIO's 4Q guidance to indicate a conservative approach, anticipating a sequential decline in vehicle volumes.

Nio saw a bump in shares Friday morning on word the Chinese electric automaker will be cutting 10% of staff positions, per a publicized an internal memo to workers signed by CEO William Li.

The letter said "duplicate” and “inefficient” roles would be cut, and that project investments not expected to contribute to the company's financial performance within the next three years would also be cut or deferred.

Nio's U.S.-traded ADRs ended trading on Friday at $8.23, up 10.6% for the week.

LI ended the week up 3.9% to $36.36, while those for XPEV saw a 16.6% jump.