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 GM and Ford to 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.

TESLA DELIVERIES: Tesla (TSLA) said that in the fourth quarter, it achieved production of more than 305,000 vehicles and deliveries of over 308,000 vehicles. In 2021, the EV maker delivered over 936,000 vehicles.

Commenting on the numbers, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives noted that Tesla announced a fourth quarter delivery number that beat even the bull case whisper number on the Street. This was a "trophy case" quarter for the company, with "massive momentum" moving into 2022, the analyst contended. Ives also pointed out that the strength was driven by robust Model 3/Y sales of 297,000 versus the Street of 252,000 with Model S/X of 12,000 versus the Street's 13,000. Total production in the quarter was 306,000 and was roughly 20,000 ahead of his estimates. With the chip shortage a major overhang on the auto space and logistical issues globally, these delivery numbers were "jaw dropping" and speaks to an EV demand trajectory that looks robust for Tesla heading into 2022, Ives added. The analyst has an Outperform rating and a price target of $1,400 on the shares. His 2022 bull case target is $1,800.

Meanwhile, RBC Capital analyst Joseph Spak raised the firm's price target on Tesla to $1,005 from $950 and kept a Sector Perform rating on the shares as record fourth quarter deliveries of 308,600 and strong production well exceeded expectations. The analyst expects shares to start the year off strongly, but believes 2022 results are ultimately most dependent on the pace of capacity expansion.

JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman also raised the firm's price target on Tesla to $295 from $250, while maintaining an Underweight rating on the shares. The analyst increased estimates after Tesla reported "much stronger than expected" fourth quarter deliveries. The analyst now forecasts fourth quarter earnings per share of $2.22, up from $1.54 prior and above the Bloomberg consensus of $1.98. He extrapolates the higher rate of Q4 deliveries into future quarters also, resulting in more operating leverage than previously modeled.

NIO, LI, XPENG DELIVERIES: XPeng (XPEV) announced it delivered 16,000 Smart EVs in December 2021. Total deliveries for the fourth quarter 2021 reached 41,751 units, a 222% increase year-over-year, including 21,342 P7 deliveries. Total vehicle deliveries for the year ended December 31, 2021, reached 98,155, representing a 263% increase year-over-year. As of December 31, 2021, the company's cumulative Smart EV deliveries reached 137,953.

NIO (NIO) also announced its December, fourth quarter and full year 2021 delivery results, with the carmaker saying it delivered 10,489 vehicles in December 2021, 25,034 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 91,429 vehicles in 2021 in total. As of December 31, 2021, cumulative deliveries of the ES8, ES6 and EC6 reached 167,070 vehicles.

Lastly, Li Auto (LI) announced that the company delivered 14,087 Li ONEs in December 2021, representing a 130.0% increase year-over-year. This took its fourth quarter deliveries to 35,221, up 40.2% quarter over quarter and 143.5% year over year. Total deliveries in 2021 increased 177.4% year-over-year to 90,491. The cumulative deliveries of Li ONE reached 124,088 since the vehicle's market debut.

TESLA RECALL: According to a letter "serving to acknowledge Tesla, Inc.'s notification to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of a safety recall," the EV maker is "recalling all 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles," the regulator announced last week. The rearview camera cable harness may be damaged by the opening and closing of the trunk lid, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying, noted the NHTSA, which said that Tesla Service will inspect and install a guide protector and new cable harness as necessary, free of charge.

LEADING EV TECH: Last week, Citi analyst Itay Michaeli resumed coverage of Lucid Group (LCID) with a Buy rating and $57 price target. The company has demonstrated leading electric vehicle technology "credentials with a best-in-class blend of range, performance, charging dynamics and price," Michaeli told investors in a research note. The analyst also argued that Lucid benefits for its speed-to-market.