Tesla Inc.'s stock experienced a brief surge, driven by encouraging global electric vehicle (EV) sales data and reports suggesting that CEO Elon Musk might be in discussions to purchase the US operations of social media platform TikTok. According to reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, Chinese officials have considered allowing Musk to buy TikTok's US unit as part of a contingency plan to avoid a potential US ban on the platform owned by ByteDance. Despite a TikTok spokesperson dismissing these reports as 'pure fiction,' Tesla shares initially rose more than 2% before closing 1.7% lower. The stock movement was also influenced by a report from Rho Motion indicating a 25.6% year-on-year increase in global sales of fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in December, totaling 1.9 million units. Additionally, 2024 proved to be a record year with 17.1 million units sold. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas highlighted Tesla's expanding reach across various industries, raising his 12-month price target on Tesla stock from $400 to $430, citing the company's advantages in data collection and AI. Tesla shares have been a proxy for the 'Trump trade' following the presidential elections, with shares up roughly 65% since Donald Trump's White House victory. However, Tesla shares are off roughly 13% from their all-time high close of $479.86 on Dec. 17.