Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Rocky Ride: Tesla Stock on Pace for Worst Year Ever
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
December 28, 2022

Share

Owning Tesla stock this year has been anything but a smooth ride for investors.

Shares in the electric vehicle maker are down nearly 70% since the start of the year, on pace to finish in the bottom five biggest decliners among S&P 500 stocks. By comparison, the benchmark index is down about 20%.

While Tesla has continued to grow its profits, signs of softening demand and heightened competition have investors increasingly worried. And then there’s CEO Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Some of Musk’s actions since taking over the social media company, including doing away with a content moderation structure created to address hate speech and other problems on the platform, have unnerved Twitter’s advertisers and turned off some users.

That’s stoked concerns on Wall Street that Twitter is taking too much of the billionaire’s attention, and possibly offending loyal Tesla customers.

Musk’s acquisition of Twitter opened up a political firestorm and has caused Musk and Tesla’s brand to deteriorate, leading to a “complete debacle for the stock,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note this week.

Musk has said that he plans to remain as Twitter’s CEO until he can find someone willing to replace him in the job.

Despite Musk’s focus on Twitter, Tesla’s results have been solid this year. The Austin, Texas, company posted year-over-year profit and revenue growth through the first three quarters of 2022, including more than doubling its third-quarter profit from a year earlier.

Still, electric vehicle models from other automakers are starting to chip away at Tesla’s dominance of the U.S. EV market. From 2018 through 2020, Tesla had about 80% of the EV market. Its share dropped to 71% in 2021 and has continued to decline, according to data from S&P Global Mobility.

This month, in a rare move, Tesla began offering discounts through the end of the year on its two top-selling models, a sign that demand is slowing for its electric vehicles.

Ives predicts that Tesla will likely miss Wall Street’s estimates when the company reports its fourth-quarter results, citing higher inventory levels, the recent price cuts and overall production slowdowns in China. He also expects a “softer trajectory for 2023.”

“The reality is that after a Cinderella story demand environment since 2018, Tesla is facing some serious macro and company specific EV competitive headwinds into 2023 that are starting to emerge both in the U.S. and China,” Ives wrote.

Still, Ives is optimistic that Tesla’s long-term prospects remain solid as the global market for electric vehicles grows — and Musk refocuses on Tesla.

“However, any further Musk strategic missteps will be carefully scrutinized by the Street and further weigh on shares,” he wrote.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

DON'T MISS

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

DON'T MISS

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

DON'T MISS

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

UP NEXT

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

UP NEXT

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

UP NEXT

Can CEMEX Dig a 600-Foot Hole and Not Harm the River? Arambula Says No and Writes a Bill

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Dips, and Asia and Europe Recover a Bit

UP NEXT

February US Job Openings Slip to 7.6M, Consistent With a Healthy but Decelerating Job Market

UP NEXT

Trump Family Pushes Further Into Crypto, Starting Another Venture

UP NEXT

Stock Markets Around the World Tumble as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Approaches

UP NEXT

Yum Brands CEO Announces Plans to Retire in 2026

UP NEXT

Americans Trade Michelin Stars for Mac and Cheese

UP NEXT

Protesters Rebelling Against Elon Musk’s Purge of US Government Swarm Tesla Showrooms

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

6 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

7 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

7 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

7 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

8 hours ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

8 hours ago

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

8 hours ago

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

9 hours ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

9 hours ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

9 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s wealthiest individual, according to Forbes’ 39th annual World’s Billio...

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

6 hours ago

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

Nassau Hall at Princeton University is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP File)
6 hours ago

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

After 31 years of service, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy IV and Pilot Michael Sill is retiring, having logged over 10,000 flight hours.
6 hours ago

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
7 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

7 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

7 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

Vehicles at an Audi showroom in Miami, March 29, 2025. President Donald Trump has said that tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to move to the U.S. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)
8 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend