Shares of General Motors opened Wednesday above $50 for the primary time ever after CEO Mary Barra and different executives laid out an array of future enterprise plans — from electrical autos to flying cars — on the CES know-how convention.

As Barra put it, the mission of the presentation Tuesday was to advertise “confidence” within the automaker’s enterprise, together with GM’s “triple zero” vision of transportation with out emissions, congestion and crashes.

GM used the occasion to flex its dimension and scale greater than ever earlier than. It confirmed the way it’s integrating new companies and why it refused to spin off its EV business final yr amid stress from Wall Avenue.

“We imagine traders ought to put together for a profound narrative change at GM put into motion in 2021,” Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a notice to traders Tuesday. “There may be much more to return by way of rolling out unbiased enterprise items with its personal administration groups, technological domains and go-to-market methods.”

GM’s inventory dropped under $50 throughout buying and selling Wednesday morning however remained above yesterday’s record closing price of $47.82 a share.

Listed below are 5 causes the shares are taking off now:   

As Wall Avenue bets on which electrical automobile start-up will turn out to be the following Tesla, GM has poured billions into EVs and plans to ship 30 new fashions globally by 2025. It is a part of GM’s $27 billion investment in electrical and autonomous autos via then.

At CES, which is being streamed on-line this yr, GM launched new particulars of upcoming EVs, particularly for its luxurious Cadillac model.

A sedan known as the Cadillac Celestiq is predicted to be a brand new flagship automobile for the automaker, that includes a customized zone for every passenger. That features a new glass roof made from sensible glass that permits every occupant to set their very own transparency ranges.

“That equal and particular person expertise for every occupant can be a signature facet of the Cadillac Celestiq,” stated Crystal Windham, Cadillac director of inside design.

GM additionally previewed a number of unnamed EVs within the background as a part of the presentation, together with at the least one Chevrolet crossover, two Cadillacs and two Buicks. The corporate declined to remark additional on the upcoming fashions.

GM unveiled a new electric delivery van as a part of a brand new EV business automobile and logistics enterprise known as BrightDrop. GM has a full portfolio of electrical merchandise, not simply autos, deliberate for the brand new unit, in keeping with executives.

“BrightDrop is a brand new enterprise from GM that reimagines business supply and logistics for an all-electric future,” Barra stated. “BrightDrop offers an ecosystem of sensible, linked merchandise, together with electrical autos and software-enabled companies, providing business supply corporations a platform for sustainable development.”

The business market is predicted to be a serious development space for EVs. Different start-up automakers corresponding to Amazon-backed Rivian in addition to legacy automakers corresponding to Ford Motor and Daimler have introduced plans to enter the phase. GM estimates the mixed market alternative for parcel, meals supply and reverse logistics within the U.S. can be greater than $850 billion by 2025.

The primary product from BrightDrop can be a propulsion-assisted electrical pallet known as the EP1 that is scheduled to go on sale by March. It was developed to simply transfer items over quick distances — for instance, from the supply automobile to the shopper’s entrance door.

The van, known as EV600, would be the second product. The primary 500 vans will go to FedEx starting later this yr.

Do not like driving? How about flying?

GM previewed an electric air taxi concept, formally often known as an electrical vertical take-off and touchdown, or eVTOL, plane, for its Cadillac model.

The flying automobile is designed to function autonomously with out a pilot. It could actually maintain one passenger and journey roughly 56 mph between rooftops and different city locations, in keeping with the corporate.

“We’re getting ready for a world the place advances in electrical and autonomous know-how make private air journey attainable,” stated Michael Simcoe, vp of GM international design. “As a passenger, it represents private area and a panoramic view of the world passing beneath you and is a glimpse of what autonomy and Cadillac luxurious may seem like within the not-too-distant future.”

Ultium is GM’s next-generation battery system that may underpin its future EVs starting later this yr with the GMC Hummer EV pickup, adopted by the BrightDrop van and a Cadillac crossover known as the Lyriq.

The Ultium battery cell is a flat, rectangular pouch that was designed by GM and is being produced via a three way partnership with LG Chem. The cells go into modules that then collectively energy the automobile contained in the automobile’s base, or platform.

The Ultium cells produce 60% extra vitality capability than GM’s present battery cells, permitting for larger vary with fewer cells, which additionally lowers price. The tip result’s a battery that may produce as much as 450 miles of vary on a single cost, at almost 40% much less price and 25% much less weight than its present electrical batteries, in keeping with GM.

The Ultium pouches may be stacked vertically or horizontally. They permit the corporate to make use of the Ultium platform, together with the cells, for all the things from massive pickup vehicles or vans to smaller vehicles and crossovers.

GM stated it’s already engaged on its next-generation battery chemistry that is anticipated to scale back reliance on cobalt and nickel – two pricey parts in present EVs. The subsequent-generation autos are anticipated to supply as much as 600 miles of vary on a single cost, in keeping with the automaker.

GM is investing billions in autonomous autos, however they largely took a again seat to EVs for the automaker at this yr’s CES.

The primary information from CES was a self-driving idea automobile for Cadillac. It encompasses a luxurious inside that the corporate stated contains hand sign controls and biometric sensors to watch very important indicators to regulate temperature, humidity, lighting, ambient noise and even aromatics.

The Cadillac mannequin resembled the Origin, a shared autonomous shuttle unveiled last year by Cruise, GM’s majority-owned self-driving automobile subsidiary. Each are constructed on GM’s Ultium platform.

The automaker additionally featured its Super Cruise hands-free driving system, reconfirming a plan to supply the know-how on 22 autos by 2023.