- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is down about 1.3% in early trading Wednesday, pointing to the stock's lowest open since June 1.
- Two negative analyst reports Tuesday pushed the stock below $300.
- Separately, CEO Elon Musk doubled-down on criticism of a British rescue diver he has accused of being a pedophile.
- Follow Tesla's stock price in real-time here.
With CEO Elon Musk’s 16-day go-private saga now more than a week behind it, the company is facing increased pressure on its fundamentals from investors and analysts. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) on Tuesday reiterated its skepticism, saying that a double-whammy of increased competition and ending tax credits could be a problem for Tesla.
"Tesla is losing the US tax credit ahead of competition, posing further challenges to affordability at a time when competition is intensifying," Tamberrino said in a note to clients Tuesday, re-instating his sell-rating after briefly suspending coverage.
"This comes as we still believe the higher up-front costs of EVs require an equalizer to match internal combustion engine (ICE) as the current price differentials (approximately $8k on a like-for-like basis comparing just propulsion costs) to ICE vehicles still put EVs out of the mainstream."
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) also warned in a separate note Tuesday that Tesla's autonomous ride sharing program could be worth a tiny fraction of Waymo's — a major blow to the program that is widely seen as Tesla's long-term goal.
Together, the two sell-ratings helped bring down Wall Street’s average target price for shares of Tesla to $328 — 15% above where shares were set to open Wednesday.
Away from Wall Street, Musk re-instated his attacks against a British cave diver who helped rescue a boys soccer team from a Thailand cave. In an email to a Buzzfeed reporter, the billionaire told the journalist that he hopes the diver, Vernon Unsworth, sues him.
"I suggest that you call people you know in Thailand, find out what's actually going on and stop defending child rapists, you fucking asshole," Musk wrote in the email, according to BuzzFeed News. "He's an old, single white guy from England who's been traveling to or living in Thailand for 30 to 40 years, mostly Pattaya Beach, until moving to Chiang Rai for a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time," the email continued.
Shares of Tesla have fallen 11% since the beginning of 2018 and are now 47% below Musk's targeted go-private price of $420.