For Tesla investors (TSLA), they finally have a sighting of Elon Musk in the building.
As first reported by the EV Electrek blog, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent a letter to employees last night, thanking them for their hard work.
Musk sends out a year-end memo to employees every year and, like in previous years, he implored employees to volunteer to deliver last-minute cars to customers, saying each additional shipment “will make a real difference.” .
However, this year, in a postscript of sorts, Musk said, “Don’t be too bothered by the stock market madness,” and that in the long run, Tesla will be the most valuable company in the world.
Musk addressing the beating Tesla shares have taken this year with employees could be an indication that workers are complaining about stock performance, as many employees are paid with stock-based compensation.
With Tesla shares down nearly 70% year-to-date, Musk said the stock’s performance is the result of rate hike and Federal Reserve activity.
Of course, many investors, Wall Street analysts and employees see Musk’s focus on Twitter as a reason for the stock’s recent performance, as well as his massive stock sales to support his Twitter buy. The total amount of Tesla shares that Musk has sold since April, when he announced his offer to buy Twitter, was $23 billion – and for the year Musk has offloaded $40 billion of shares. actions.
Not to mention that demand concerns are growing, with Tesla having to cut prices in the United States and China to boost sales. It is more than likely that employees on the sales floor, as well as the factory, are aware that demand could decline for the world’s largest electric vehicle brand in terms of vehicle sales.
Despite the criticism directed at Musk and his absence from Tesla, some on Wall Street are still bullish on Tesla’s story, at least when it comes to fundamentals.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas doubles down on Tesla, reiterating his outperformance rating while cutting his price target to $250 from $330 to reflect the stock’s recent weakness.
Jonas cites Tesla’s valuation, cash flow, innovation and cost control to sustain his rating. “Tesla may be able to extend its lead over the EV competition,” Jonas said.
Tesla shares are up in early trade today, poised for two straight positive days.
—
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on instagram.
Click here for the latest stock market trends from the Yahoo Finance platform
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events moving stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Download the Yahoo Finance app to Apple or android
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, instagram, Flipboard, LinkedInand Youtube
