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As Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock has gotten battered in 2022 — it’s down nearly 66% year-to-date — investors have begun to look around for better electric vehicle (EV) stocks to buy.
Don’t get me wrong, almost all EV stocks are down in 2022, but Tesla was, and still is, the best example of what a successful manufacturer of EVs looks like. Part of the problem is supply chain issues. It’s also been more expensive to live in 2022, and that’s gotten consumers gun-shy about buying new technology. Lastly, Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition has killed the man’s focus.
In the past, Musk would routinely sleep on Tesla’s California plant’s floor to ensure a smooth assembly line. In recent weeks, he’s spent most of his time fighting with Twitter users over free speech. That’s never good for any business.
These distractions will soon come to an end. Musk admitted on Dec. 20 that he would step down as CEO as soon as he found someone “foolish enough to take the job.” However, Musk says he’ll continue to run Twitter’s Software and Servers team.
So, if you’re tired of his theatrics, here are three EV stocks to buy that won’t be nearly as chaotic as passive investments.
BYDDY
BYD
$49.00
NIO
Nio
$10.97
AMZN
Amazon
$85.25
BYD (BYDDY)
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I thought about selecting Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, BRK.B) instead of BYD (OTCMKTS:BYDDY), the Chinese automobile manufacturer Warren Buffett first invested in September 2008, because it is a safer way to play the EV market.
However, since the beginning of 2022, Warren Buffett’s holdings in the maker of EVs and internal combustion-powered vehicles have dropped by 25% from 225 million Class H shares 14 years ago to 164 million at the end of November. Buffett paid $232 million for his investment. The 61 million sold in 2022 probably netted Berkshire close to $2 billion [61 million times 250 Hong Kong Dollars converted into U.S. dollars] while the remaining shares are worth $4.17 billion.
Thus, It’s unlikely that Buffett will sell too many shares in 2023 as he waits for electrification to gain traction outside China, so if your risk tolerance isn’t high, BRK.B is a better bet than the BYD ADRs (American Depositary Receipts). BYD also reported that its sales for all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in November were 153% higher than a year ago, to 230,427. Sequentially, they were 5.8% higher than its October sales.
Through November, its all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales for 2022 were 1.62 million units, 132% higher than in 2021. Off 25% in 2022, BYDDY stock looks poised to move higher in 2023.
