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Chinese EV maker Xpeng says its X9 MPV could be the 'top seller in its category'

Chinese electric vehicle company Xpeng told CNBC on Friday that its newly launched X9 model could be a “game changer” for the industry.

Xpeng launched the X9 large 7-seater EV on Jan. 1, a car built on its SEPA2.0 architecture for the Chinese market. The X9 series are priced between 359,800 yuan to 419,800 yuan (about $50,360 to $58,760) with immediate deliveries.

“For X9, we actually anticipate this to be a game changer for the battery electric vehicles segment for MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles),” Brian Gu, vice chairman and co-president of Xpeng, told CNBC’s Emily Tan in an exclusive interview.

“We believe this could be the top seller in its category … because I think it has some very innovative technology and design as well as superior handling, industry leading smart driving technology – packed into a very beautifully designed product,” said Gu.

Xpeng’s new launch comes as several domestic EV players such as Nio, Huawei and Zeekr recently revealed new electric vehicles. Even Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi is launching its first EV to compete in the market.

We anticipate in 2024, we will be growing much faster than the industry growth which means that we can expand our market share.

Brian Gu

Vice Chairman and Co-President, Xpeng

Xpeng has laid out ambitious plans to roll out driver-assist technology in China by end of last year and in Europe by the end of 2024.

The Chinese EV maker also entered into a cooperation framework agreement with Guangdong Huitian on Jan. 2 to manufacture, develop and sell flying vehicles, where Xpeng will provide research and development, technology consulting services and sales agent services to Guangdong Huitian.

“We anticipate in 2024, we will be growing much faster than the industry growth which means that we can expand our market share,” said Gu, adding that the firm will be looking to increase profit margins with greater scale and better product mix.

“The X9 will be a very high margin product for us,” said Gu.

Stiff competition

Competition is intensifying in the Chinese EV market, with BYD, Li Auto and Geely among the small number of players that have hit their annual sales targets.

Xpeng and Nio were among those that missed their targets.

Xpeng delivered a total of 141,601 units in 2023, a 17% increase from a year ago. This fell short of the firm’s target of delivering 200,000 vehicles for the year as reported by local media.

“The focus of investors [for 2024] is whether the company can maintain decent delivery momentum with new launches and improve profitability in a challenging pricing environment, in our view,” said Morningstar analyst Vincent Sun in a Nov. 16 note on Xpeng.

2024 will be a very competitive year with obviously a number of new models as well as new brands launching in the segment.

Brian Gu

Vice Chairman and Co-President, Xpeng

Nio delivered 160,038 vehicles in 2023, representing an increase of 30.7% compared to a year ago — but it still was well below its target of about 245,000 cars based on management’s target to “double the volume” of 2022 during their fourth quarter earnings call.

Li Auto delivered 376,030 vehicles in 2023 – meeting its annual delivery milestone of 300,000 vehicles.

In terms of sales, BYD met its 3 million target in 2023 and surpassed Tesla as the world’s top-selling EV brand in the fourth quarter, selling more battery-powered vehicles than its U.S. rival.

BYD produced 3.05 million vehicles in 2023 while Tesla said it made 1.84 million vehicles that same year.

‘Strong momentum’

“I think we will continue to see a number of the catalysts that’s propelling the growth of the new energy vehicle market, obviously the technology, the product launches, as well as the continued conversion from internal combustion engines to new energy vehicles,” said Gu.

 The new energy category includes electric and plug-in hybrid power sources.

“But in order to be competitive, I think we still need to focus on differentiating innovative technology as well as maintaining a very strong cost-competent competitive advantage with scale as well as technological innovations,” he added.

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The Magnificent 7’s lousy year, by the numbers

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The Magnificent 7's lousy year, by the numbers

Elon Musk attends the first cabinet meeting hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 26, 2025.

Brian Snyder | Reuters

It’s been a painful year so far for megacap technology giants and 2025 is only getting started.

Six members of the group are already tracking for significant year-to-date losses, led by a 40% drop in shares of Tesla. Meta Platforms is the only exception, holding on to a slim gain.

The drop in technology stocks comes just two months after leaders flocked to Washington for President Donald Trump‘s inauguration and after many megacaps powered to new highs in the post-election rally after his November victory.

Now, macroeconomic uncertainty, recession fears and concerns over the impact of tariffs have fueled a market selloff that’s pushed all the major averages into negative territory for 2025. Earlier this month, the megacaps lost more than $750 billion in market value in the worst day for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite since 2022.

Read more CNBC tech news

Artificial intelligence leaders such as chip darling Nvidia haven’t been spared from the turmoil. The chipmaker has dropped nearly 14% in 2025, shedding nearly a fifth in value since its record high in January. The company, once in the $3 trillion market capitalization club, has lost $767 billion in market value since then, with shares headed for a negative week even after its annual GTC Conference.

Alphabet — another key leader in the AI race — is down more than 14% this year and has lost about a fifth of its value since its record close last month. Microsoft is on pace for its eighth straight negative week and its worst losing streak since February 2008.

Tesla has suffered the most significant losses, shedding about $780 billion in market value since its record close in December. CEO Elon Musk’s close ties to Trump haven’t shielded the stock, with shares on pace for their ninth straight negative week.

Apple has lost nearly $700 billion in market value since its record close in December and dropped 17% in that timeframe, while Amazon is down 18%. The e-commerce giant is on pace for its longest weekly losing streak since May 2022, when it fell seven consecutive weeks.

While Meta has held on to slight gains, the stock has suffered its fair share of turbulence. The stock is headed for a fifth straight negative week, which would match its five-week decline from October 2022. Shares have lost a fifth of their value since their record close on Feb. 14.

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Elon Musk received court summons in SEC suit over failure to properly disclose Twitter stake

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Elon Musk received court summons in SEC suit over failure to properly disclose Twitter stake

Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks to the press as they stand next to a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. 

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

Elon Musk received a court summons last week in connection with the SEC’s lawsuit over his alleged failure to properly disclose purchases of Twitter stock in 2022 before bidding to buy the company, according to a filing on Thursday.

A process server delivered the civil summons to Musk on March 14, at the headquarters of SpaceX in Brownsville, Texas, the filing said. The server noted that upon his arrival at the SpaceX facility, three different security guards refused to accept the documents, and one told him he was trespassing. He “placed the documents on the ground,” and left while the guards photographed him and his car.

The summons pertains to a case concerning Musk’s eventual purchase of Twitter, now known as X, for $44 billion in 2022. Prior to the acquisition, Musk built up a position in the company of greater than 5%, which would’ve required disclosing his holdings to the public within 10 calendar days of reaching that threshold.

According to the SEC’s civil complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in January, Musk was more than 10 days late in reporting that material information, “allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his financial beneficial ownership report was due.”

Once he took over Twitter, Musk used the platform to promote then-candidate and now President Donald Trump, and other Republican candidates and causes. Musk, who’s also CEO of Tesla, spent some $290 million to help propel Trump back to the White House and now serves within the administration as a top advisor to the president.

An answer from Musk, or his attorneys, is due on April 4.

The SEC, Elon Musk, and Quinn Emanuel Partner Alex Spiro, his lawyer, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment

Trump’s White House has directed deep cuts in the budget and staff of independent federal regulatory agencies, including the SEC. The regulator offered $50,000 to many of its employees, encouraging them to resign or retire by March 21.

The Trump administration has also reversed a 15-year-old policy that allowed the SEC’s director of enforcement to issue formal orders of investigation. The agency will now require requests for formal orders of investigation to be pitched to and approved by a vote of SEC commissioners, a change likely to slow down probes like the one that led to the SEC’s suit against Musk.

Musk previously settled civil securities fraud charges brought by the SEC at Tesla, his autos business. In that matter, Musk and Tesla each had to pay $20 million in fines, and Musk had to temporarily relinquish his role as chairman of the Tesla board.

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Tesla owners are trading in their EVs at record levels, Edmunds says

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Tesla owners are trading in their EVs at record levels, Edmunds says

A Tesla store in Alhambra, California on March 11, 2025.

Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

As Elon Musk wraps up his second month in the White House, Tesla owners are trading in their electric vehicles at record levels, according to an analysis by national car shopping site Edmunds.

The data from Edmunds published on Thursday said that March represented “the highest ever share” it had seen for Tesla trade-ins toward new or used cars from dealerships selling other brands.

Since heading to Washington, D.C. in January as a central figure in the second Trump administration, Musk has been slashing the federal workforce and government spending, and has gained access to sensitive government computer systems and data, though his efforts have been repeatedly challenged in court.

Prior to assuming leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk spent around $290 million last year to help propel President Donald Trump back to the White House.

While investors snapped up Tesla shares after Trump’s victory in November, they’ve been rushing for the exits of late, pushing the stock’s price down by 42% this year. Waves of protests have targeted Tesla facilities in the U.S. and beyond. Other criminal acts of vandalism and arson have targeted Tesla stores, vehicles and charging stations across the U.S.

In addition, Tesla is facing increased competition from EV makers. In January, S&P Global Mobility found Tesla sales declined about 11% year-over-year in the U.S., while Ford, Chevrolet and Volkswagen bolstered their sales of EVs, picking up market share.

“Shifts in Tesla consumer sentiment could create an opportunity for legacy automakers and EV startups to gain ground,” Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, wrote in an email. “As Tesla brand loyalty and interest wavers, those offering competitive pricing, new technology, or simply less controversy could capture defecting Tesla owners and first-time EV buyers.”

The Tesla brand, more than that of any other automaker, is tightly tied to its CEO. In August 2024, Edmunds surveys found that just 2% of car shoppers in the U.S. were unfamiliar with Musk.

Edmunds also said that shopping for new models of Tesla vehicles on its platform dropped to its lowest level last month since October 2022 after peaking as late as November.

Even before Musk began heading up DOGE, Tesla’s brand was suffering. Its brand value fell by 26%, or about $15 billion, in 2024, a second straight annual decline, according to research and consulting firm Brand Finance.

Many car shoppers trade in their Tesla EVs for a newer model Tesla. Edmunds data didn’t account for those transactions.

Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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