Why Baidu Stock Popped This Morning
Shares of Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), the Chinese internet search giant, soared in morning trading Tuesday, up 8.8% as of 11:15 a.m. EST. The gain follows a Reuters report that Baidu is considering joining the red-hot Chinese electric-car industry and manufacturing its own electric vehicles.
Baidu has been developing its own driverless car technology for years, and it's testing out an autonomous taxi service known as Go Robotaxi. Now, reports Reuters, it is considering plugging this tech into electric cars manufactured under its own brand by a contract manufacturer such as Zhejiang Geely, Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), or China FAW Group -- or even forming a joint venture with an automotive company and taking for itself a majority stake.
For its part, Baidu is refusing to comment on the Reuters report, although GAC admitted it does presently have a "strategic partnership" of some sort with Baidu.
Source Fool.com
