What happened Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) aiming to capitalize on the popularity of renewable energy by buying start-up electric vehicle (EV) companies got routed last week. It was collateral damage of a short attack against one of their peers, Nikola. Today, however, at least a couple of these soon-to-be-public EV companies are executing U-turns. At the close today, shares of Spartan Energy Acquisition (NYSE: SPAQ), the SPAC that aims to bring EV maker Fisker public, were up 14.5%. DiamondPeak Holdings (NASDAQ: DPHC), the SPAC that will attempt to IPO electric pickup maker Lordstown Motors through a reverse merger, did almost as well, up 13.5%. But Tortoise Acquisition (NYSE: SHLL), which wants to bring electric semi-truck maker Hyliion public, closed 9.9% lower. Image source: Getty Images. So what I really see only one catalyst affecting the shares today, and it comes from an unexpected source: the website OilPrice.com. In a report out Saturday, the site broke from its usual focus on oil to discuss a new report out of mining research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie. The consultant described trends in EV production, and how they might affect demand for lithium for electric car batteries over the next five to ten years. In discussing lithium demand, Wood Mackenzie said that it sees acceptance of EVs growing worldwide, and so it's bring its forecast for EVs forward by 10 years and sees them making up around 40% of passenger car sales by 2030. Now what Spartan and DiamondPeak, the SPACs that saw their share prices go up today, are trying to take passenger-car companies public. Spartan's Fisker builds electric sports cars, while DiamondPeak's Lordstown wants to build electric pickups. But Tortoise is buying Hyliion, a maker of electrified powertrains for heavy trucks, not the EV segment that Wood Mackenzie says is going to make up 40% of the market within 10 years. I don't know if that distinction was a good reason for investors to sell Tortoise Acquisition shares today, but it certainly seems like a good reason to feel optimistic about Spartan Energy and DiamondPeak Holdings. 10 stocks we like better than Tortoise Acquisition Corp.When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Tortoise Acquisition Corp. wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of August 1, 2020 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source