Chinese solar stocks jump on news of Musk's visit, but some firms deny cooperating
Chinese solar shares rose on Wednesday, after local media reported Elon 'Musk sent delegations to visit various companies. This was days after Elon announced plans to build a large-scale?cell capacity for the U.S.
The CSI All Share Solar Power Equipment Sub-Industry Index grew 3.61%, while the CSI SH-HK-SZ Solar Power 50 Index grew 3.22%. According to a report published by Sina Finance on Tuesday, citing sources from the Chinese solar industry, a team sent by Musk visited several photovoltaic companies in China. These included firms involved in equipment and silicon wafers as well as battery modules and Perovskite Technology. The report did identify the companies that were visited. The state-run Securities Times published a report later on Wednesday stating that GCL Group, a Chinese solar panel manufacturer, had confirmed the visit of a Musk team.
Separately, JinkoSolar told Securities Times that it recently had been in contact with a team of Musk's associates. JinkoSolar's shares rose 20% to reach their daily limit on Wednesday. Trina Solar shares rose 9%.
JinkoSolar filed a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday night stating that it was not cooperating with Musk's group, had not signed any formal agreements or frameworks and did not have any orders in hand.
Gaoce Technology, a Chinese manufacturer of solar manufacturing equipment, filed a similar document on Wednesday. It denied any cooperation with Musk or agreements.
Musk's Tesla did not respond to requests for comments. Musk announced last week that he planned to build 100 gigawatts worth of solar cell power in the U.S., during a Tesla earnings conference call. He had claimed a few days earlier that the U.S. would be able to meet its entire electricity needs through solar power.
He said, "The solar potential is undervalued" during the earnings call.
Musk stated, "We are?going to integrate across the entire supply chains from raw materials to finished solar panels," Musk. Musk praised China's manufacturing prowess in a recent post on X.
He wrote: "China is a manufacturing powerhouse and knows very well that solar energy is the future." "It is a fact!" Tesla unveiled last week a new residential panel that it produces at its Buffalo, New York factory. Last month, the company began shipping 'Tesla’s first in-house panel for residential use' to its customers. The company will continue to manufacture the solar roof tiles that are also produced in Buffalo. Tariffs are heavily protecting the U.S. Solar Market. They aim to curb imports of cheaper cells and panels from China and Southeast Asia, where many Chinese manufacturers operate subsidiaries. Many U.S. producers maintain links with Chinese manufacturers. In the third quarter last year, the U.S. installed more than 30 GW of solar power. (Lewis Jackson, Beijing; additional reporting by Li Gu, Shanghai; Nichola Groom, Los Angeles; and Hyun Joo, Seoul; editing by Michael Perry; Sonali Paul; and Mark Potter).
(source: Reuters)
