by Elon Musk knows he can no longer ignore the discontent rumbling among individual Tesla investors.
The billionaire is seen by Tesla as a guru (TSLA) – Get a free report fans and investors, who usually embrace every project, even the craziest ideas, that he puts forward.
But for a few weeks now, a cold wind has been blowing in the direction of the CEO of the leading electric vehicle manufacturer.
For the first time, Musk is facing harsh criticism from his most diehard fans. These fans no longer hesitate to challenge him.
“I have the utmost respect for @elonmusk as a manager, leader and visionary,” Tesla investor Gary Black wrote on Twitter. “I wish he would hire someone to fix Twitter and focus on $TSLA as CEO with all its opportunities and challenges and could be a $3T market cap company in 5 years.”
Tesla stock is down 55%
The reason for this unusual displeasure is the continued decline of Tesla stock on Wall Street. Tesla’s stock price is down more than 55% this year, translating to a market value loss of more than $600 billion. Tesla’s market cap is below $500 billion for the first time in nearly two years.
Musk explained that this decline was due to macroeconomic issues.
“Macro conditions are tough,” the billionaire posted on Twitter on Dec. 8, as an attempt to explain Tesla’s stock decline. “Energy in Europe, real estate in China and crazy Fed rates in the US.”
Until recently, this explanation would have sufficed for Tesla fans and investors. They are aware that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes make it expensive to finance car purchases.
But many now believe Tesla’s current problem is Musk’s.
“Elon blaming $TSLA’s recent underperformance on macro factors, including ‘crazy US Fed rates’, doesn’t seem right,” Black challenged the billionaire.
For the investor, one of the most vocal in the Tesla community, the billionaire made a mistake acquiring Twitter. That’s because since Musk became the owner of the social network, Musk has failed Tesla and alienated the automaker’s traditional customer base by regularly attacking Democrats and more specifically progressives.
Musk has indeed declared himself unofficial leader of the Conservatives in recent months. And in the name of free speech, he has removed the safeguards Twitter had installed to limit hateful, racist and anti-Semitic speech.
“Only another time did I think @elonmusk put $TSLA SH at risk. That was February 2021 when TSLA invested $1.5 billion in #btc,” Black recently said, referring to Tesla’s February 2021 decision to invest in bitcoin . “We almost exited $TSLA again in April 2022 at $340 when Elon bid $54.20 for $TWTR. I was convinced that Elon buying TWTR was bad for TSLA SHs,” he added.
Musk makes a promise. He doesn’t work out.
Black said he hoped Musk would “come to his senses that attacking his awakened leftist client base hurts the $TSLA brand and will tone down his political views,” and that the tech tycoon would “soon appoint a CEO of TWTR and assume his duties.” would resume as full-time CEO of $TSLA, easing [shareholder] tensions.”
This view appears to be shared by Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney, who lowered his price target for Tesla. The analyst says demand for Tesla cars will worsen as the economy continues to slow.
“Tesla’s brand has become more polarizing,” Delaney wrote in a note to customers. “Tesla’s brand has significant value associated with the company’s leadership in clean energy and advanced technology.”
The analyst added that the company needs to shift consumer focus to what Tesla is doing and away from Musk’s tweets.
His price target for the stock is now $235, down from $305.
Seeing doubts rising, Musk released a recipe on Dec. 14 that helped him become one of the world’s most powerful bosses: make promises. He has just promised Tesla investors that he will make sure his takeover of Twitter will benefit them one day.
“I will make sure Tesla shareholders benefit from Twitter in the long run,” the techno king said.
He gave no further details, leaving Twitter users to guess.
“How so?” one Twitter user asked.
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