Tesla Share Slide Wipes £200bn Off Market Capitalisation

Shares in electric carmaker Tesla continued their losses on Monday to reach one-third below their record high in January, continuing a trend of volatility over the past year.

Declines from Monday to Friday of last week week saw the personal fortune of Tesla founder and chief executive Elon Musk drop by some $27 billion (£19.5bn), according to Bloomberg’s estimates.

Tesla’s share drop comes as investors have sold off high-valuation stocks in recent weeks, in part due to rising interest rates.

But Tesla’s decline has been steeper than that of some other large tech firms.

Share drop

Its shares declined by more than 4 percent on Monday and were down nearly 35 percent from a 26 January peak.

The company’s market capitalisation is down by nearly $300bn since 26 January, to $550bn.

The latest dip coincides with a Twitter message from Elon Musk stating that an update on the forthcoming Cybertruck vehicle, announced in 2019, is planned “probably” for the second quarter of 2021.

Musk said the company is currently focused on building a plant in Texas where the Cybertruck is to be produced.

Tesla’s shares crashed more than 60 percent in February and March of last year, as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic triggered a broad selloff worldwide.

Volatility

The company’s stock soared once again in August, then dropped 33 percent before resuming their sharp ascent.

But one industry watcher said the slide represents a “massive buying opportunity”.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the fundamentals for the electric vehicle market are strong, with tax incentives and the incoming US administration’s green priorities expected to boost EV demand in the coming months.

“The sell-off we have seen in EV land creates a massive buying opportunity in our opinion to own Chinese EV players as well as the leader of the pack Tesla,” Ives said in a research note.