NEWSLETTER
Tesla's actions had been in a tear since Donald J. Trump won the presidential elections. Investors bet that the car manufacturer would benefit from the more than $ 250 million that its executive director, Elon Musk, spent to support Trump's campaign.
But an 8 percent decrease in Tesla shares on Tuesday, eliminated what was left of that rally. Investors who once thought that Trump could help clarify regulatory obstacles to Tesla's autonomous driving technology have worried that Musk spends too much time in Washington while Tesla's sales collapse.
They are also worried that the immersion of Mr. Musk in the right -wing policy, including its support for an extreme right party in the German elections on Sunday, alnds a significant number of buyers. In the United States, even some Republicans have been alarmed by the cutting and burning costs of Mr. Musk as head of the Government Efficiency Department.
The decrease in shares, which has achieved the Tesla market value below $ 1 billion, threatened Mr. Musk as the richest person in the world because much of his wealth is in Tesla shares. And the decreases will generate more disturbances between investors and employees that are annoying because Musk has not articulated a plan to stop the constant erosion of the market share in the United States, Europe and China.
The shares closed to $ 302.80 on Tuesday, the lowest since November 7, two days after the elections. That fell 37 percent of a peak of $ 479.86 at the end of December 17.
The losses of Tuesday were at least partly a reaction to a catastrophic decrease in European sales of Tesla, which 50 percent fell in January of the previous yearaccording to new car records counted by the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Tesla's sales fell in the region even when the general market for electric vehicles increased by 34 percent, according to an association report on Tuesday.
Tesla's performance has recently shaken the faith of some investors who have long been optimistic about the company's prospects. Gary Black, managing partner of Future Fund, who has 488,000 followers in x, said on the social network on Sunday that he had been “erroneously optimistic” about Tesla “for four years.”
Mr. Black pointed out that the sales of the Cybertruck truck, the newest vehicle of Tesla, have been disappointing and that the company has been forced to reduce the prices of its Model 3 sedan and a vehicle of sports public services model and for shrise sales, deeply reducing profits.
But he said that his company still had Tesla shares and that he expected them to recover at $ 380 in six to 12 months.
Wall Street analysts said Tuesday that they saw the fall in Tesla's actions as a return to the trajectory in which they were before the bounce after the elections.
Tesla has been forecasting a growth in vehicle sales this year, and Europe's sales data suggest that the automobile manufacturer could see a decrease.
“It is a sign that Tesla may not see the growth of delivery to which management has been guiding during the last quarters,” said Seth Goldstein, Morningstar analyst.
Goldstein said it was too soon to say definitely what impact the political activities of Mr. Musk and the narrow links with Trump are having in Tesla.
“It is always a risk if you want to continue entering the policy that rejected some consumers, and I think there is some concern in the market that the Tesla brand might not resonate so well with customers,” he said.
Until now, Goldstein added, he has not seen tangible evidence that aims to weakening the brand in the US market, although it seems more likely that this may be happening in Europe.
Tesla faces a growing competition there, both from European manufacturers and Chinese manufacturers that offer long -range electrical models at prices comparable to those of Tesla.
(Tagstotranslate) Electric and hybrid vehicles
