Tesla and Toyota Teaming Up for Electric RAV4

Today's news has helped TSLA to defy a bearish bias in the broader equities market, with the stock surging more than 3% in the first hour of trading. The Wall Street newcomer has endured a bumpy ride since making its debut on June 29, ranging from a June 30 peak north of $30 to a July 7 nadir just south of $15. Currently, the shares are lingering near the $20 region.

If TSLA's trading has been exceptionally volatile, perhaps it's because the company can't provide investors with much in the way of concrete fundamental developments to digest. The automaker has never been profitable, and that isn't expected to change until sometime in 2012, at the earliest. It's no wonder, then, that new details of the Toyota pact have propelled the stock higher today.

As for TM, U.S.-traded shares of the Japanese automaker have pulled back 1.6% at last check. The stock has so far found a floor at its 10-day moving average, which hasn't been breached on a daily closing basis since July 2. However, familiar resistance from TM's 10-week trendline looms overhead in the $72 neighborhood. This descending technical ceiling has guided the stock consistently lower since late April.

Elizabeth Harrow is a senior equities analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.