Tesla CEO Elon Musk tells workers not to worry about 'stock market craziness'
For Tesla (TSLA) investors, they finally have an Elon Musk sighting in the building.
As first reported by EV blog Electrek, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent a letter to employees last night, thanking them for their hard work.
Musk sends out an end-of-year memo to employees every year, and just like in years past he implored employees to volunteer to deliver last minute cars to customers, claiming every incremental shipment “will make a real difference.”
However this year, in sort of a post script, Musk said, “Don’t be too bothered by stock market craziness,” and that in the long term, Tesla will be the most valuable company in the world.
Musk addressing the drubbing Tesla stock has taken this year with employees could be an indication that workers are grumbling about stock performance, as many employees are paid with stock-based compensation.
With Tesla shares down nearly 70% year to date, Musk said that the stock’s performance is the result of rising rates and activities by the Federal Reserve.
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 purchase of Twitter. The total amount of Tesla stock Musk has sold since April, when he announced his bid to buy Twitter, stood at $23 billion — and for the year Musk has unloaded $40 billion of stock.
Not to mention the fact that demand concerns are rising, with Tesla having to cut prices in the U.S. and China in order to boost sales. It’s more than likely employees on the sales floor, as well as the factory floor, are aware that demand might be waning for the world’s largest EV brand by vehicle sales.
Despite the criticism leveled on Musk and his absence from Tesla, some on Wall Street are still bullish on the Tesla story, at least when it comes to fundamentals.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas is doubling down on Tesla, reiterating his Outperform rating though slashing his price target to $250 from $330 to reflect recent weakness in the stock.
Jonas cites Tesla's valuation, cash flow, innovation, and cost controls for maintaining his rating. "Tesla may be in position to extend its lead vs. the EV competition,” Jonas said.
Tesla shares are up in early trade today, poised for two positive days in a row.
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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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