Dump Nio And Buy Tesla, Says Cramer

CNBC host Jim Cramer has advised investors to sell their shares in Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. and buy shares in Tesla Inc. instead.

What Happened: On the CNBC “Mad Money" lightning round,Cramer saidinvestors in Nio should be switching to Tesla, as it is the “single best time” to buy shares in the Elon Musk-led company.

“Remember the piece that we did with Larry Williams... a couple weeks ago which said this is the single best time to buy Tesla, right here, right now? That’s what you’re going to do tomorrow,” Cramer said.

In January, Cramer had called Nio the “hottest” Chinese stock, especially with the downfall of Alibaba Group Holdings Inc., and as investors looked for the next Tesla.

Why It Matters:Tesla’s stock hit a 52-week high of $900.40 in late January, but is down 14% year-to-date.

Of late, Tesla has been facing rough weather in China - its second largest market - due tosafety issuesandmilitary spy noise. Tesla has also halted plans to expand its Gigafactory in Shanghai due to the strained U.S.-China relations, it wasreportedearlier this month.

Nio, which targets the premium EV segment, relies on service offerings such asbattery-as-a-serviceto make an impact on customers in China.

Nio plans to commercially launch the ET7, its first-ever EV sedan, in the first quarter of 2022. Earlier this month, Niounveiledits ambitious plan to enter the Norway electric vehicle market for its first overseas foray.

Nio’s stock touched a 52-week high of $66.99 in January this year, but is down 26.4% for the year-to-date period.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 4.4% higher in Monday’s trading at $606.44, while Nio shares closed 5.4% higher at $35.89.