SolarCity

Panasonic Capitalizes On Tesla Partnership, Eyes Expansion In China & Beyond

Panasonic confirmed in recent days that it has not locked in a deal yet with Tesla for its Chinese Gigafactory. Several Panasonic executives commented on the matter, noting that plans are “not solidified yet” and that “nothing is set in stone.” It’s unclear if that’s glass-half-full or glass-half-empty commentary, but the next line leads one to think it’s in the plans.

The Fascinating Tesla Short Story

The official numbers are now in and more than 38 million shares of Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) were in the hands of short sellers as of April 13, 2018. That’s a whopping 10 million shares picked up by shorts in just one month’s time and a strong indication that TSLA short interest topped 40 million shares later in the month. To put the numbers in perspective, TSLA shares held by shorts during the past 12 months have previously ranged from 27 million shares to a bit over 31 million. Even with those lower numbers, TSLA managed to sometimes hold the title of the most shorted stock in the USA! Above 38 million shares, though, that means that more than 30% of Tesla’s tradable shares are in the hands of entities that are betting the stock will lose value. The track record of those who bet against Elon Musk is not good, particularly when the number of shares sold short reaches such epic heights.

States Agree: Third-Party Ownership Enables Distributed Solar, But What’s Next?

Much has changed in the national solar market since an earlier analysis of the market and policy landscape in 2014. The solar market as a whole has continued to grow, and small-scale systems are proving to be better deals for communities than larger ones. So, compared with previous rankings of solar capacity, do states that allow third-party leases and power purchase agreements still dominate?