Domestic Related Stocks Drained on Battery Day...Lacking a 'Decisive Blow'

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO (Photo by AP Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] Although Tesla's Battery Day suggested a rapid shift to electric vehicles with announcements such as battery cost reductions, domestic battery stocks did not gain much momentum.

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, revealed the goals and direction for Tesla electric vehicles at the Battery Day event held after the annual shareholders' meeting on the 22nd (local time). One of the key points was reducing battery costs through process innovation. The goal is to lower battery costs by 56% within three years through improvements in cell design, cell factories, cathode materials and processes, and battery process integration. If this plan is successfully implemented, producing electric vehicles priced at $25,000 (approximately 30 million KRW) will be possible, indicating a faster transition to electric vehicles.

Park Yeonju, a researcher at Mirae Asset Daewoo, explained, "The reduction in battery costs will be driven by technology, innovation, and financial strength, accelerating the shift to electric vehicles. Since mass production technology is crucial in the battery industry, and Tesla has mentioned difficulties in yield improvement in the dry electrode process, there is a high possibility of cooperation with leading battery companies." CEO Musk also posted on his social network service (SNS) the day before that Tesla will purchase more batteries from partners such as LG Chem, Panasonic, and CATL.

However, the market expressed disappointment over the absence of a 'decisive breakthrough.' Tesla's stock price closed at $449.39 on the 21st in regular trading but dropped to $424.23 on the 22nd, the day of Battery Day. After Battery Day, it even fell below $400 in over-the-counter trading.

This trend was similarly observed in domestic battery stocks. As of 10 a.m. on the 23rd, LG Chem's stock price fell 4.23% (27,000 KRW) from the previous day to 612,000 KRW. Samsung SDI (-4.03%), SK Innovation (-1.99%), as well as secondary battery material stocks like Ecopro BM (-5.25%) and Chunbo (-4.64%) showed similar declines.

Although it was called Battery Day, the beneficiaries were rather autonomous driving-related stocks. Following CEO Musk's mention of unveiling a fully autonomous vehicle within a month, Motrex (14.79%) and Ranix (7.89%) rose.

Hwang Seonghyun, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "No specific content threatening domestic battery companies was announced technically at Battery Day. While it was meaningful in confirming Tesla's long-term vision, in the short term, it can be interpreted as the disappearance of an event that had caused uncertainty for domestic companies."