Tesla shares rise on Citi upgrade, Elon Musk talk of a new factory in Asia

Tesla shares jumped almost 8% on Wednesday after hitting a 52-week low a day earlier. The rally followed an upgrade by analysts at Citi and an indication from Tesla CEO Elon Musk that South Korea is a top candidate for a new factory the company hopes to build in Asia.
Citi analysts wrote,  “To become bullish from here, we’d like to gain added confidence on the average sale price/auto gross margin bridge (including tracking near-term datapoints in China and Europe) and FSD progress.”
In addition to the Citi note, Musk spoke on Wednesday with South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol and expressed optimism that a new Tesla factory will eventually open in the Asian country.
Musk has said he’s willing to do a buyback at Tesla, pending board approval. Last month, on the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Musk said Tesla is likely to do a “meaningful buyback” next year, potentially between $5 billion and $10 billion.