Tesla Faces Stock Drop, Layoffs and Investor Pessimism

17 April, 2024

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Tesla‘s stock fell nearly 6% on Monday and another 2.7% on Tuesday, hitting its lowest level since last April, after CEO Elon Musk told employees that the company was cutting more than 10% of its global workforce, CNBC reported.

Often after the announcement of job cuts, companies’ stock prices skyrocket, but investors, however, did not react as expected to the latest news from the electric car maker.

Tesla shares plunged 29% in the first quarter, the worst period since late 2022 and the third-largest drop since the company’s initial public offering in 2010. Shares are 60% below the peak reached in November 2021.

In 2018, when Tesla laid off 9% of its employees, the stock rose more than 3%. In 2022, the stock fell 9% on the initial announcements surrounding the layoffs, but recovered after Musk commented on his decision.

Today, however, market pessimism is taking over shareholders.

Earlier this the company reported a drop in vehicle shipments in the first quarter – the first annual decline since 2020, when production ceased during the pandemic. In China, Tesla has faced an onslaught of competition from domestic electric vehicle makers, including BYD and phone maker Xiaomi.

Last week, the company announced it was halving the subscription price of its premium driver-assistance system, offered as “full self-driving” (FSD), for U.S. customers. According to the latest data available from Kelley Blue Book, electric vehicle prices were down 9.7% year-over-year in March, and Tesla prices hit an all-time low in January, although there was a spike in March.

Tesla executives Drew Ballino and Rohan Patel announced Monday they are leaving the company. Drew Baglino has worked at Tesla since 2006. Rohan Patel joined in 2016 after serving as a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama on climate and other issues.

Regarding the layoffs, Musk said it was “critical to look at every aspect of the company to reduce costs and increase productivity.”

However, analysts and investors see a demand problem. According to FactSet, 18 analysts have lowered their price targets on Tesla stock this month, while none have become more optimistic.

Tesla is forecasting lower growth in 2024 compared to the previous year, with no plans for this year yet.

The company faces strong competition as well as the unpredictability associated with Musk’s actions. In addition to all the issues he has with regulators, Musk is involved with a host of other ventures such as SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Co. Despite his claims that he doesn’t miss important meetings at Tesla and keeps an eye on every single event at the company, it seems that it is shaping up to be a challenging year in which the electric car company needs to regain the trust of its investors and customers.