Tesla
stock fell 8.4% on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, and snapping its 11-day winning streak after a report said the electric-vehicle giant was delaying its planned robotaxi event.
The EV maker is delaying the event to October from Aug. 8, “to allow teams working on the project more time to build additional vehicle prototypes,” according to a Bloomberg report that cited people familiar with the matter.
Tesla didn’t respond to Barron’s request for comment.
Tesla’s shares closed down $22.23, to $241.03, its lowest close since July 2 and its largest percent decline since Jan. 25, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Tesla was the worst performer in both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, and was the second most-active stock in both indexes, with a preliminary volume of 216.6 million shares changing hands.
Shares traded nearly 9% lower intraday, at $239.65 at their lowest point. Thursday’s close is down 41.21% from its all-time closing high of $409.97 on Nov. 4, 2021, Dow Jones Market Data said.
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Wedbush analyst Dan Ives weighed in on the report, reiterating an Outperform rating and $300 price target.
“We await to hear from (CEO Elon) Musk but our bullish AI and robotics thesis on Tesla is unchanged if the timing moves from August to October although clearly this is not ideal and the stock will be under near-term pressure if this delay is true,” they wrote.
The delay erodes some confidence that robotaxis are ready to hit roads. Timing matters. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has a price target of $310 on Tesla stock. More than half of that target is tied to Tesla’s self-driving car technology.
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The stock had gained 44% over the 11-session winning streak, and is now down 3% for the year so far.
The stock had traded higher earlier in Thursday’s…
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