CAT News & Events

President Donald Trump is promising lower costs for tractors, saying that he plans on "cutting out a massive amount of nonsense" for farm equipment. President Trump is hosting a White House event with more than 800 farmers to unveil new EPA diesel-exhaust sensor guidance and an expanded SBA loan-guarantee program for agricultural small businesses.

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, Wall Street's newest darling Rivian, traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GMand Fordto 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.Clickto check out Tesla's recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks.TERAFAB PROJECT:Elon Musk's Terafab project will be built in Austin and run by Tesla and SpaceX, Kara Carlson and Loren Grush of Bloomberg. Musk said he plans to start off with an "advanced technology fab" in Austin with the equipment necessary to make chips of any kind and test them, with plans to start with a smaller scale fab before moving to a larger one.DELIVERIES:UBS is calling for Tesla to deliver 345,000 deliveries in Q1, down 18% quarter over quarter but up 2% year over year, below the firm's prior estimate and consensus, with storage deployments of 15.1 GWh, though deliveries are viewed as less influential on the stock than in the past, the firm tells investors in a research note. Share performance appears increasingly driven by narrative and AI-related initiatives such as Robotaxi and Optimus, while the core auto business remains critical to funding growth investments, including about $20B in planned capex this year, UBS says. The firm has a Sell rating and $352 price target on Tesla shares.SERVICE GAPS:Melius Research tells investors in a research note that the TeslaSemi is receiving attention amid rising oil and diesel prices, highlighting the potential value of electrification and energy diversity. However, skepticism remains about Tesla's ability to compete in the trucking market without significant investments in service and parts distribution, areas where incumbents like Paccarand Caterpillardeploy assets and staff far exceeding the manufacturers' own book value, making uptime a critical differentiator that Tesla currently lacks. The firm has a Buy rating and $590 price target on Tesla shares.FAST-CHARGING:Stellantissaid that owners of Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT and Maserati battery-electric vehicles in North America now have greater freedom in how they charge, thanks to expanded access to more than 27,500 TeslaSupercharger locations. Starting today, Stellantis BEV customers can access Tesla V3 and V4 Superchargers using a Free2move Charge North American Charging System-CCS1 DC adapter. The expanded access is a "major milestone" in Stellantis' public charging strategy, delivering broader fast-charging coverage and intuitive tools for managing every charge, the company said.UBER INVESTING IN RIVIAN:Last week, Rivian Automotiveand Uber Technologiesannounced a partnership to help accelerate both companies' autonomous vehicle plans, expecting to deploy 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis in the first phase of R2 robotaxi deployment. Initial deployments are expected to begin in San Francisco and Miami in 2028 and will expand to 25 cities by 2031, the companies stated. Uber will invest up to $1.25B in Rivian through 2031, subject to the achievement of certain autonomous milestones by specific dates, building towards a scaled, fully-autonomous fleet of Rivian R2 robotaxis, which will be available exclusively through the Uber platform. An initial $300M investment has been committed to following signing, subject to regulatory approval. Should all milestones be achieved, the companies will have deployed thousands of unsupervised Rivian R2 robotaxis across 25 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe by the end of 2031.The companies also have the option to negotiate the purchase of up to 40,000 more autonomous Rivian R2 vehicles beginning in 2030. RJ Scaringe, Founder and CEO of Rivian said: "We couldn't be more excited about this partnership with Uber - it will help accelerate our path to level 4 autonomy to create one of the safest and most convenient autonomous platforms in the world. The scale of Rivian's growing data flywheel coupled with RAP1, our state-of-the-art in-house inference platform, and our multi-modal perception platform make us incredibly excited for the rapid advancement of Rivian autonomy over the next couple of years." Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber said, "We're big believers in Rivian's approach-designing the vehicle, compute platform, and software stack together, while maintaining end-to-end control of scaled manufacturing and supply in the U.S. That vertical integration, combined with data from their growing consumer vehicle base and experience managing the complexities of commercial fleets, gives us conviction to set these ambitious but achievable targets."ADJUSTED EBITDA TARGET:In a regulatory filing, Rivian noted that the company no longer expects to be adjusted EBITDA positive in 2027 due to an expected increase in R&D spend associated with the acceleration of its autonomy roadmap after Rivian and Uber announced their partnership deal.BUY LUCID:Citi analyst Michael Ward initiated coverage of Lucid Groupwith a Buy rating and $17 price target. The firm believes Lucid has reached a "positive inflection point." The company launched Gravity in Q4 of 2025, is on track to begin Cosmos production in Q of 2026, and its Uber robotaxi agreement is expected to begin commercial operations by year-end, the analyst tells investors in a research note.MOVING TO THE SIDELINES:Macquarie downgraded XPengto Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $19, down from $24. The firm likes XPeng's physical AI "optionality" but says the company's volume growth "is no guarantee this year." The stock typically outperforms when XPeng releases a "clear hit product," but it remains too early to judge if the upcoming GX or new Mona SUV series in the second half of 2025 will have a similar impact, the firm tells investors in a research note. Macquarie downgraded the shares after cutting XPeng's loss per share estimate to reflect the company's higher spend.US Tiger also downgraded XPeng to Hold from Buy with a price target of $20, down from $28. The company reported a "solid" Q4 and achieved its first-ever quarterly net profit, but the near-term outlook appears "soft," and growth remains back-end loaded, the firm tells investors.WEAKER GUIDANCE:Goldman Sachs analyst Tina Hou downgraded Li Autoto Neutral from Buy with a price target of $19, down from $24, post the Q4 report. Li issued 2026 guidance below expectations for volume and gross margins, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Goldman expects the company to enter two quarters of widening net profit loss with "lackluster" volume growth and "depressed" vehicle gross margins. This is due to a by lack of new model launches, raw material and memory cost inflation, and LI's higher mix of the low-margin i6, contends the firm.ENERGY PRICES UP:Jefferies upgraded SolarEdgeto Hold from Underperform with a price target of $49, up from $30, as the Middle East conflict drives volatility in European energy prices. This current impact is mirroring the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which boosted SolarEdge's Europe revenue to a peak of $1.9B in 2023 from $630M in 2020, notes the firm, which expects a potential, but "not as dramatic," demand surge in Europe to support earnings.

Kraken paused its IPO plans, with sources saying it may revisit a listing when market conditions improve. Meanwhile, the consumer technology platform Quince raised $500M in a Series E financing.This week's private company news:Kraken paused its IPO plans after confidentially filing with the SEC in November, with sources saying it may revisit a listing when market conditions improve, CoinDesk's Will Canny and Helene Braun. The delay comes after a banner year for crypto IPOs. Firms like Circle, Bullishand Geminiwent public and raised $14.6B collectively in 2025, the authors note. Kraken's $800M raise at a $20B valuation, and broader industry trends, suggest this year's IPO candidates will emphasize financial infrastructure, compliance, and steady revenue over trading-driven models, the publication adds.Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:Quince– The consumer technology platform announced a $500M Series E financing led by ICONIQ, with participation from Basis Set Ventures, Wellington Management, Wndrco, MarcyPen Capital Partners, Ballie Gifford, Notable Capital and DST Global. Publicly traded companies in the space include Lululemon, Ralph Lauren, and VF Corp.Replit– The coding platform secured $400M in Series D funding, valuing the company at $9B. The round was led by Georgian Partners, with participation from G Squared, Prysm Capital, Coatue, Andreessen Horowitz, Craft Ventures, Y Combinator, Accenture Ventures, Okta Ventures, and Databricks Ventures. Publicly traded companies in the space include Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon.Axiom Math– The company said it raised $200M in new funding from venture capital firms Menlo Ventures, Greycroft and Madrona, valuing the company at $1.6B. Publicly traded companies in the space include Nvidia, IBM, and Meta.XBOW– The autonomous offensive security company raised $120M in Series C financing. The round was led by DFJ Growth and Northzone and values the company at over $1B. Publicly traded companies in the space include CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet.Imperative Care– The medical technology company closed an oversubscribed $100M convertible note financing. The round was co-led by new investors Elevage Medical Technologies and Perceptive Advisors in partnership with existing investor Catalio Capital Management, LP. New investors Longaeva Partners LP and Brown Advisory also participated in the financing. Publicly traded companies in the space include Stryker, Medtronic, and Penumbra.Unicorns to watch this week:Bedrock Robotics– The company automating building equipment for autonomous construction is valued at $1.8B after a $270M Series B financing. Publicly traded companies in the space include Caterpillar, Deere, and Trimble.Spirit AI– The Beijing-based humanoid robotics and physical intelligence foundation model company is valued at $1.5B. Publicly traded companies in the space include Tesla, Rockwell Automation, and Intuitive Surgical.AI² Robotics– The intelligent robot company for industrial and service industries is valued at $1.4B. Publicly traded companies in the space include ABB, Teradyne, and iRobot.Galaxea AI– The humanoid robotics company is valued at $1.4B. Publicly traded companies in the space include Tesla, Nvidia, and Rockwell Automation.Revel– The testing and control software for aerospace, defense, and robotics company is valued at $1B. Publicly traded companies in the space include PTC, Keysight, and Palantir.IPOs to watch:Pershing Square USA, or PSUS- The closed end investment company managed by Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P., announced that it has publicly filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement on Form N-2 relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common shares of beneficial interest. Concurrently with the filing of the N-2 Registration Statement, Pershing Square Inc., the prospective parent company of PSCM, publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.Student Living EduVation– The company filed with the SEC for an initial public offering by the company of 3.75M ordinary shares. The company stated, "We are offering 3,750,000 Ordinary Shares on a firm commitment basis. We anticipate that Offering price of the Ordinary Shares will be between $4.00 and $6.00 per Ordinary Share. The Resale Shareholders are also offering 5,880,000 Ordinary Shares to be sold pursuant to the Resale Prospectus."Liftoff Mobile– The company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The total number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The offering is subject to market and other conditions and the completion of the SEC's review process.Cerebras Systems– The AI chipmaker Systems has picked Morgan Stanley to lead its initial public offering, which could raise about $2B in a listing as soon as April, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg's Ryan Gould, Bailey Lipschultz and Anthony Hughes. Cerebras, which withdrew its previous IPO registration in October, has filed fresh paperwork for an IPO and is set to meet with analysts and prospective investors this month, the report added.OpenAI– The company is accelerating its plans for a public listing as rivalry with Anthropic intensifies, now planning on listing in Q4 of this year, Berber Jin, Corrie Driebusch, and Kate Clark of The Wall Street Journal. OpenAI is holding discussions with Wall Street banks about a potential initial public offering and has hired several executives to oversee its finance team, sources told the Journal.SpaceX- Elon Musk's SpaceX is said to be weighing a confidential IPO filing as soon as March and could seek a valuation over $1.75 trillion in the offering, sources told Bloomberg. The company is moving forward with plans for the biggest-ever listing and expects to submit its draft IPO registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission in March, which would keep it on track for a June listing, the sources are reported to have said. SpaceX could seek a valuation in the IPO of more than $1.75 trillion, some of the sources are said to have added."Private Markets" is The Fly's recurring series of stories on the latest moves in the private sector, largest unicorn companies and initial public offerings to watch. Fly subscribers, add $PRIVATE to your portfolio for alerts on breaking news in the startup and venture capital space.