- Analysts are expecting another miss when the company reports delivery numbers for the Model 3, as soon as next week.
Tesla continues to slide ahead of next week’s delivery numbers (TSLA)
"Production hell," a fiery crash, and a Moody's downgrade have made this week a rough one for Tesla.
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Shares of Tesla slid more than 3% Thursday, continuing their week of declines amid plummeting bond prices and a quickly approaching production report that has traders bracing for the worst.
The electric automaker’s stock has declined by 18% in the past week following a downgrade by debt-rating agency Moody’s and as it continues to struggle through "production hell" with its Model 3 sedan.
An investigation by the NTSB into a fiery, fatal crash in California and a partnership between Jaguar and Waymo for 20,000 electric self-driving cars only made things worse. In total, the decline has made short-sellers more than $1.9 billion in less than a month.
"We see the slow ramp and cash burn putting pressure on the stock given the debt due and EV competition coming this year and next," Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne said in a note to clients this week. The firm expects Tesla to report deliveries of 7,500 for the Model 3 next week. Osborne has a bearish $200 price target for the stock — 20% below where shares were trading Thursday.
Tesla has historically missed expectations for vehicle production numbers — and Osborne isn’t the only bear expecting another disappointment.
Gene Munster of Loup Ventures told Bloomberg TV Thursday that he also expects a miss.
“With the potential for another Model 3 production timeline push, we are seeing increased investor concern over the company's cash burn and debt load,” Osborne of Cowen said.
Shares of Tesla are down 21% since the beginning of 2018.