Charged: Eversource dips as Trump says no more ‘wind or farmer destroying solar’

Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to keep up-to-the-second on breaking news in the electric vehicle and clean energy space, as well as which stocks in these sectors that the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.

From the hotly-debated high-flier Tesla (TSLA), Wall Street’s newest darling Rivian (RIVN), traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GM (GM) and Ford (F) to the numerous SPAC-deal makers that have come public in this red-hot space, The Fly has you covered with “Charged,” a weekly recap of the top stories and expert calls in the sector.

Click here to check out Tesla’s recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks.

WIND, SOLAR PROJECTS: President Donald Trump stated in a post to Truth Social, “Any State that has built and relied on WINDMILLS and SOLAR for power are seeing RECORD BREAKING INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY COSTS. THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY! We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar. The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!! MAGA” Publicly traded companies in the solar energy space include Array Technologies (ARRY), Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Complete Solaria (SPWR), Emeren (SOL), Enphase Energy (ENPH), FTC Solar (FTCI), First Solar (FSLR), JinkoSolar (JKS), Maxeon Solar (MAXN), Shoals Technologies (SHLS), SolarEdge (SEDG) and Sunrun (RUN).

President Donald Trump also said via Truth Social, “STUPID AND UGLY WINDMILLS ARE KILLING NEW JERSEY. Energy prices up 28% this year, and not enough electricity to take care of state. STOP THE WINDMILLS!” Publicly traded clean tech stocks and renewable developers include AES Corp. (AES) and NextEra Energy (NEE), GE Vernova (GEV), Bloom Energy (BE), Plug Power (PLUG), First Solar (FSLR) and Fluence Energy (FLNC).

Subsequently, Orsted (DNNGY) announced Friday that its subsidiary Revolution Wind, a 50/50 joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partner’s Skyborn Renewables, received an order instructing the project to stop activities on the outer continental shelf related to the Revolution Wind project from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. “Revolution Wind is complying with the order and is taking appropriate steps to stop offshore activities, ensuring the safety of workers and the environment,” the company said in a statement. The project is 80% complete with all offshore foundations installed and 45 out of 65 wind turbines installed. “Orsted is evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously. This includes engagement with relevant permitting agencies for any necessary clarification or resolution as well as through potential legal proceedings, with the aim being to proceed with continued project construction towards COD in the second half of 2026,” the company added.

After the Department of Interior issued the order to Revolution Wind to halt all activities, Jefferies noted that Eversource (ES) has a $745M-plus liability if the project is abandoned or a liability to “make whole” GIP for 13% pre-tax IRR for delays. While the firm thinks abandonment is “unlikely at this time,” it calls the tolling of the IRR “unfortunate” and keeps an Underperform rating on Eversource Energy shares.

Also commenting on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management halt to all activities at the Revolution Wind project, BofA analyst Ross Fowler said he believes a material delay in the schedule could extend the in-service date and increase project cost. While noting that Eversource agreed to sell its ownership stake in February of 2024 to Global Infrastructure Partners, the firm also points out that the company retains certain cost sharing obligations so the order could create unanticipated cost for Eversource. BofA reiterates a Neutral rating and $68 price target on Eversource Energy shares.

CLASS ACTION SUIT: U.S. District Court has ruled to allow a class-action lawsuit against Tesla (TSLA) which contends that the automaker has been misleading customers about its self-driving capabilities, Electrek’s Fred Lambert reports. Tesla has been selling a software package called “Full Self-Driving”, FSD, and claimed would deliver unsupervised level 4-5 self-driving, but that hasn’t been the case, the report states.

MODEL Y VARIANT PRODUCTION: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, stated in a post to X, “This variant of the Model Y doesn’t start production in the US until the end of next year. Might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America.”

ROBOTAXI: William Blair keeps a Market Perform rating on Tesla after demoing the company’s robotaxi service in Austin prior to the public launch in September. Unlike Waymo and Zoox vehicles, which are outfitted with a complex sensor suite “that stick out like a sore thumb,” Tesla’s autonomous vehicles blended in with all the other Teslas on the road, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Blair says the robotaxi was half the price of Uber (UBER), demonstrating its ability to win market share. The robotaxi “felt like a more luxurious service for half the cost and the driving felt more human-like,” the firm contends. It remains enthusiastic about the robotaxi launch but notes Tesla is facing a period of margin headwinds from pending regulatory cuts.

SELL LI AUTO: Macquarie analyst Eugene Hsiao downgraded Li Auto (LI) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $21, down from $28, citing rising competitive pressures. Li looks set to miss “lagging” sell-side Q2 estimates for volume and revenue, while the Q3 consensus volume estimate of 139,000 units “appears stretched,” the analyst tells investors. In addition, management needs to provide a clear strategy on how to reset growth ahead of the launch of the i6 in September, which will be competing directly with “best-sellers” like the Tesla Model Y and Xiaomi YU7, the analyst says.

Meanwhile, Bernstein analyst Eunice Lee downgraded Li Auto to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $26, down from $33. The firm sees rising competition in premium electric SUVs and challenges in the “crowded” battery electric vehicle market pressuring the company’s outlook. Li’s battery electric vehicle efforts are also margin dilutive, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Bernstein believes the competitive landscape warrants a more cautious 12-month view on the shares.

UPGRADE FOLLOWING TREASURY GUIDANCE: Jefferies upgraded Enphase Energy (ENPH) to Hold from Underperform with a price target of $36, up from $28. Treasury guidance recently issued was positive for residential solar, yet Enphase’s stock is up just about 10%, notes the firm, which perceives a market disconnect in which the buyside gives little credit for TPO sales, wrongly assuming the majority of sales are tied instead to cash/loan. Jefferies “strongly” believes the TPO opportunity is underappreciated as investors “hold onto the somewhat stale view” that Enphase has no TPO exposure.