Tesla stock has worst week of the year

Tesla shares fell as much as 15% this week as CEO Elon Musk made bearish comments about macroeconomic issues.

Tesla shares closed the week at $211.90, down 15%, marking their worst week of the year.

Prices fell after Tesla CEO Elon Musk made bearish comments about the economy during his third-quarter earnings call this week, saying price cuts would be necessary in the coming quarters.

In the third quarter, Tesla recorded $23.35 billion in revenue and $2.3 billion in profit, down 37% year-on-year and also the lowest in two years.

Tesla Model 3 cars produced at a factory in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters — Tesla Model 3 cars produced at a factory in Shanghai. Photo: *Reuters*

Musk poured cold water on investor expectations for the Cybertruck electric pickup truck. Tesla expects to start delivering the vehicle later this year. However, he remained cautious about the Cybertruck's profitability, given its uniqueness compared to previous Tesla vehicles.

"The demand is huge. We've had over a million pre-orders. So demand is not a problem. But we have to make a car that is affordable for everyone. It's extremely difficult," he said.

He also declined to give details about the “robotaxi” and self-driving technology they have been researching for years. Tesla has lagged behind other robotaxi developers such as Cruise, Waymo (USA) and Didi (China).

Musk also mentioned reducing the cost of electric cars for customers, while expressing concern about high interest rates. "Interest rates are too high. If they go up any further, it will be very difficult for people to buy cars," Musk said.

During the earnings call, Musk also made some optimistic comments, such as reassuring investors that Tesla would continue to “invest heavily in AI,” a technology he said would be “a huge game changer” and “have the potential to make Tesla the most valuable company in the world with fully autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots.”

However, the market has not been as enthusiastic about the CEO’s long-term vision as it has been in the past, with even the most optimistic analysts expressing caution after the company reported its third-quarter earnings.

Colin Langan, an analyst at Wells Fargo, said Tesla investors “don’t have rose-tinted glasses anymore.” Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley cut his price target on Tesla shares from $400 to $380.

"We can't call it a growth stock when it's about to have a second consecutive year of declining earnings. We need to rethink the long-term potential of Tesla's products and services," Jonas said.

Ha Thu (according to CNBC)

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