Electric vehicle newbie Nikola soars while Tesla and Big Tech's sell-off worsens: CNBC After Hours - CNBC

CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day's top business news headlines. On today's show, CNBC's Phil LeBeau breaks down the just-announced partnership between Nikola and General Motors. Plus, CNBC's Meg Tirrell explains why nine leading pharmaceutical CEOs made a pledge to prioritize safety during Covid-19 vaccine development.

Tesla shares crater more than 20% after S&P 500 snub

Tesla shares tumbled Tuesday, after Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker was left out of the S&P 500 by the committee that decides on new additions to the index.

Tesla shares were down more than 20% in afternoon trading. The stock has been on a tear this year, having risen around 400%, and the company is now worth more than some of the world's largest automakers, including Toyota and Volkswagen.

On Friday, the S&P 500 Index Committee decided to add e-commerce site Etsy, automatic test equipment maker Teradyne and pharmaceutical firm Catalent to the S&P 500, but stopped short of including Tesla. Some investors had expected Tesla to be included this quarter, after it reported its fourth consecutive quarter of profitability in July.

Nikola shares pop as much as 53% after General Motors takes 11% stake in electric truck maker

Shares of Nikola surged Tuesday after General Motors announced it's taking an 11% stake in the electric truck maker and will produce its marquee hydrogen fuel cell electric pickup truck the Badger by the end of 2022.

Shortly before the opening bell, Nikola shares were up 30% and GM's were 6% higher. Nikola shares had popped by as much as 53% while GM's jumped as much as 9.1% in the premarket trading.

GM is getting a $2 billion stake in Nikola and the right to nominate one board member in exchange for in-kind services. Phoenix-based Nikola specializes in building zero-emission semi trucks using battery or hydrogen fuel cell technology, but it recently introduced its Badger pickup truck for consumers. This will also make GM the exclusive supplier of Nikola's fuel cells globally, except Europe, for its class 7/8 trucks.

U.S., European drugmakers pledge to make safety the main focus in coronavirus vaccine development

Nine leading U.S. and European vaccine developers pledged on Tuesday to uphold the scientific standards that their experimental immunizations will be held against, amid a hurried global race to contain the pandemic.

The companies, including Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, in a joint statement made a "historic pledge... to uphold the integrity of the scientific process as they work towards potential global regulatory filings and approvals of the first Covid-19 vaccines."

The unusual move to promise to play by well-established rules underlines a highly politicized debate over what action is needed to quickly rein in the spread of the deadly disease and to jumpstart global business and trade.

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