Has Tesla Got Its Mojo Back?

But the luxury electric vehicle maker seemingly has eased fears over battery fires, and its shares are up more than 24% year to date.

No doubt it also helps that Consumer Reports ranked the Tesla Model S fifth in this year’s brand perception survey, up from 11th place in the previous survey. Tesla displaced Mercedes-Benz, which fell to seventh place. Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC), and the Chevrolet brand of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) were the top four.

In other good news for Tesla’s brand perception, Forbes recently reported that a used Tesla Model S could command much more in the used market than a brand new one. That likely is due to the relatively few used Tesla cars that are available. There have even been stories of Teslas being thrown in to sweeten residential property deals.

The other recent news that could be giving the stock a boost has to do with the way Tesla is introducing itself to China. Whereas most carmakers add a sizable premium to their luxury brands in the People’s Republic, Tesla is adding barely enough to cover shipping, import duties and taxes. Shareholders likely would rather the carmaker charge as much as the market will bear, but the country has criticized foreign automakers for excessive pricing. But China is the world’s largest auto market, and Tesla sees the nation representing perhaps a third of its global growth this year.

Tesla shares reached $196.00 in early trading Monday, a new 52-week high. The 52-week low is way down at $33.80. The share price has overrun the mean price target of analysts surveyed by Thomson/First Call, but at least one of them sees shares headed to $230.