Climate tech stock market shares tumble after Trump's win
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The investor hive mind's early reaction: President-elect Trump threatens the trajectory and economics of low-carbon energy.
Why it matters: While wider equity markets soared, share prices in various "clean" sectors tumbled as Trump won and Republicans took the Senate.
- "Trump's victory automatically creates headline risk for the entire clean tech landscape," Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov said in a note shortly before markets opened Wednesday.
State of play: He'd soon be proven right. A few examples:
The Invesco Solar ETF shed 10% on the day. Array Technologies fell 22%, SunRun lost 30%, and First Solar lost 10% (and much more before recovering).
Ørsted and Vestas, active in offshore wind that Trump opposes, both lost roughly 14% Wednesday.
EV startups Rivian and Lucid lost 8% and 5%, respectively. Several charging providers took a beating, with ChargePoint losing 12% and Blink Charging and EVgo both down 11%.
MarketWatch has more.
Catch up quick: Trump has vowed to rescind unspent funds under the 2022 climate law.
- He could also make it tougher to access a suite of tax incentives that total hundreds of billions of dollars.
- The president-elect is also likely to scuttle EPA emissions rules for power plants and cars.
Yes, but: As we've written a bunch of times, outright gutting the IRA probably isn't in the cards — especially as money flows to red states and districts.
- Some analysts and industry figures cautioned against overreacting for other reasons, too, like clean tech price declines.
- Molchanov, the Raymond James analyst, also points out state-level climate policies are drivers.
- And higher tariffs under Trump could help companies including solar manufacturers, but they can also sap demand due to higher prices, he notes.
What they're saying: "The fear that climate progress will be impeded by the Trump administration is largely overstated," John Tough, managing partner of software-focused Energize Capital, tells my Axios Pro colleagues.
The intrigue: Tesla bucked the trend, rising 15% Wednesday.
- Who knows how much stems from Elon Musk's Trump support and possible government role, and how much simply reflects Tesla's market maturity.
- "Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment," Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives said in a note.
The bottom line: Trump can change the pace of energy transition — but it won't stop.
