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The comments by Ann Carlson appear to be one of the reasons why a brief rally on Wall Street faltered Tuesday, Tesla’s stock taking another tumble after losing 65% of its value in 2022. But a variety of other factors also appear to be in play, including concerns about the earnings report the EV manufacturer is set to release Jan. 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, analysts and investors continue to raise concerns about Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one of the company\u2019s largest investors complaining the South African-born executive is \u201ckilling\u201d the car company. \u201cIf I knew\u201d how distracted Musk had gotten after purchasing Twitter, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have invested in Tesla,\u201d said Leo KoGuan, who has put $3 billion into the automaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInvesting a lot of resources\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The once high-flying Tesla has run into a series of problems during the last 12 months. That includes growing concerns about its two semi-autonomous driving technologies. The original Autopilot system is the target of an ongoing investigation by NHTSA that, analysts suggest, could see as many as 830,000 vehicles recalled. The probe was triggered by a series of crashes, including ones in which Autopilot-equipped vehicles have slammed into stationary emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re investing a lot of resources\u201d into the probe, Carlson told reporters on Monday. The probe, she added, \u201crequire(s) a lot of technical expertise, actually some legal novelty and so we’re moving as quickly as we can, but we also want to be careful and make sure we have all the information we need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Autopilot, along with the newer Tesla Full Self-Driving system, has come under repeated fire of late. Both systems are the target of a series of lawsuits and probes looking into not only their safety but also whether Tesla overstated their capabilities. One investigation launched by the California Department of Motor Vehicles could see Tesla barred from selling vehicles in that state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Missing the target<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Investors have also raised concerns about Tesla\u2019s sales and earnings. Even though the carmaker set an all-time record for deliveries last year, at 1.31 million, the numbers fell short of analysts\u2019 consensus forecast, even after launching hefty new incentives in the U.S. and China. Those givebacks are expected to cause a shortfall in fourth-quarter profits \u2014 and Gene Munster, an analyst with Loup Ventures, on Tuesday warned that future Tesla earnings could dip by as much as 25%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think that there\u2019s going to be some earnings pressure based on some of the discounting,\u201d Munster said during an interview on CNBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Investors might have been more forgiving but for concerns about CEO Musk \u2014 whom many accuse of effectively walking away from Tesla to focus on his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe broke the stock,\u201d said Ross Gerber, head of the Gerber Kawasaki investment firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shifting blame<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Musk has tried to downplay his role in Tesla\u2019s plunge on the Nasdaq exchange \u2014 but analysts say there\u2019s a more coincidental link in the timing of that rout and the CEO\u2019s bid for Twitter. It began last April, around the same time Musk announced his $44 billion offering, and accelerated once the deal was completed in October. All told, Tesla shares lost nearly two-thirds of their value in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the process, the automaker\u2019s market capitalization dipped from around $1.2 trillion to less than $350 million by the time shares hit a brief, 52-week low of just $101.81.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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