...just how much is the decline in Tesla shares a reflection of...

...just how much is the decline in Tesla shares a reflection of increasing odds of the threat of a Trump presidency outcome to EV growth?
Tesla loses more lustre after another downgrade
Timothy MooreBefore the Bell editor
Mar 14, 2024 – 6.51am


Shares in Tesla fell, extending losses this month to more than 15 per cent, after Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan added his voice to concerns about the near-term outlook for the electric vehicle maker.
In New York, shares in Tesla shed 4.5 per cent to $US169.48. The stock has tumbled more than 30 per cent so far in 2024, cutting its market cap to $US531 billion ($801 billion).
Mr Langan downgraded Tesla to underweight and cut his price target to $US125 from $US200, saying he sees downside risk to EV sales volume as price cuts are having a diminishing impact. He is forecasting zero growth in sales volumes this year and a decline in 2025.

Among three assessments of the outlook for Tesla’s stock, Mr Langan has a potential upside price target of $US252 and a potential downside one of $US44.

Mr Langan is among an increasing number of analysts, including those at Deutsche Bank earlier this week, who are concerned that Tesla will report a sharp drop in first-quarter deliveries. The company has said it sees itself “between two growth waves”.


“When a [Wall Street] analyst downgrades a growth stock to a sell, it’s more often than not a reflection that near-term expectations (volumes, revenues, earnings) are too high, rather than a longer-term view that valuation is too rich,” said Gary Black, managing partner at The Future Fund.
Still, Mr Black’s firm last week pared its Tesla holdings, and its price target for the stock to $US250 from $US290. In a separate post on X this week, Mr Black said: “We’ve been wrong on Tesla for three years now. It’s been our worst performing stock.

“We’ve tried to be conservative in our outlook but were wrong on our view that management would not cut prices, which have destroyed 2024 earnings power.”

Mr Black has repeatedly listed what he sees as a long list of catalysts for Tesla on X, and yet he’s also been increasingly critical of what he sees as a lack of effort by Tesla to bolster the case for its EVs to US consumers.

One positive for Tesla from Europe overnight, the company said output had resumed at its assembly plant in Berlin, which had been shut for about a week after a suspected arson attack cut its power.