Tesla Share Price Plummets After Musk's NAIAS 2015 Visit

by Cameron Aubernon

Published: January 16th, 2015

tesla share price plummets after musk s naias 2015 visit

Tesla shareholders felt lighter Wednesday after the automaker’s stock price fell from just over $200/share to $186.09/share after CEO Elon Musk’s announcement at the 2015 Automotive News World Congress in Detroit — held during the 2015 Detroit Auto Show — that his company wouldn’t be profitable until the start of the 2020s.

Business Insider adds that another bombshell dropped at the start of his presentation likely helped to take the wind out of the sails: sales of the automaker’s Model S in China were down in Q4 2014. Musk put the blame on perception among Chinese consumers regarding the charging infrastructure for Tesla’s sole model, explaining that not only had the issue been handled, but that the Supercharger network was expanding; the rate of said expansion, however, is slower than that of Europe or the United States.

Further into the presentation, Musk proclaimed that Tesla would sell “a few million” vehicles by 2025 by going for volume over being a niche luxury player, likely built on the back of the upcoming Model 3. Meanwhile, the Model X due sometime this year is already sold out for the entire year despite the company’s best efforts to manage demand, such as steering would-be X owners into the driver’s seat of the S.

Finally, Musk urged the majors in the audience to continue their investments into electrification, stating that they all need to do more to change the public’s perceptions on EVs and hybrids.

Since the plunge, Tesla shares have recovered some of their lost value, closing $191.87/share Thursday afternoon.

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Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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8 of 27 comments

APaGttH on Jan 16, 2015

If the mainstream Model 3 comes out during a period of low gasoline prices, the justification math (look at the money you'll save) gets tough to present. Selling to mainstream customers isn't just about chargers, brand aspiration, and look at the money you'll, *ehem" save by spending $35,000, but it's about a dealer and service network. There is a lot of logistics and business needs to go mainstream over niche boutique brand, and I think people are under estimating these challenges. The way you treat a relatively small number of luxury customers simply won't scale in a mainstream operation. If they did scale and didn't hurt profitability, ever dealer service department would operate like Lexus, BMW, Porsche, etc. etc. etc.

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- Vulpine on Jan 16, 2015
  
  You're making the assumption that Tesla will never go the Licensed Dealer route; he's never said that. He's only said that going that route is not economical for Tesla as a brand YET.
  
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- SCE to AUX on Jan 16, 2015
  
  My Leaf saved me $100/month compared to my 30 mpg xB1, back when gas prices were $3.80. My MPGe is about 120, I think. The Tesla's MPGe is about 86. Gas would have to drop to about $0.60/gallon to break even with an ICE car at 30 mpg. But buying an EV isn't always about saving gas or saving the planet - the driving & ownership experience and simplicity of the vehicle can't be beat. You are correct - spending $35k to save on gas money doesn't make sense if that's all there is to it. Tesla won't have to provide calculators (Nissan doesn't). People understand 'no gas', which is a nice convenience. It's also nice to never worry about oil changes, transmission fluid, belts, starter motors, exhaust pipes, catalytic converters, engine sensors, fuel systems, engine rattles, fumes, or hot radiators. http://nissan-leaf.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/686974-600x329.png
  
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- Mcs on Jan 17, 2015
  
  @SCE to AUX To add to what you've said, for me it still amazes me when like today, I hit a nice smooth section of pavement and I'm gliding along vibration free and silent. Perfect if you like listening to music. Conversations can be held in a softer voice. Sometimes it's cool just to listen to the silence. It's amazing these things aren't the standard for luxury vehicles. Recently I had co-workers complaining about standing outside freezing pumping gas during the recent polar cold snap. My Leaf was full of power and toasty warm after pre-heating inside my garage. No range anxiety because on most of my routes you can't swing a dead duracell without hitting a level 2 charger. At the furthest point of my longest commute, I have a choice of 2 fast DC chargers almost across the street from each other, although I usually end up with a level 2 charge at my destination. That commute is 50 miles one way and the car easily made it non-stop in -2 weather. As for cost, I haven't figured out the latest numbers, but I'm in the process of getting solar, so that should reduce the cost of running the car (and my house along with the heat pump) down to some fairly low levels. But, it really is the experience of driving an electric and being able to devote 99% of my vehicle maintenance time to simple to work on vintage fun cars that would never survive a daily commute. Saving money on gas definitely isn't my highest priority.
  
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- SCE to AUX on Jan 17, 2015
  
  @mcs: Is your Leaf a 14 with the heat pump and new lizard battery? Mine is the 12 with resistance heat and old battery. Now in its 3rd winter, my actual range is down to about 36 miles @ 100%, or 30 miles @ 80% fill. The gas gauge is never accurate. The Pittsburgh area has very few L2 chargers and only 2 L3 chargers. No 50 mile journeys for me. Spring and summer will be better, but at this point I can basically drive to the next community and back - that's it.
  
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Ron B. on Jan 16, 2015

The price has been bought down by day traders shorting his stock,probably the same day traders who sit on the PC all day buying and selling in nanoseconds to suit their whims or what ever some daytime TV financial guru tells them. Hence the slight dead cat bounce later in the day. For my money,Tesla is just another Columbia Electric . A toy for the rich and fatuous and eventually they will go the way of all such toys...into museums to be gawked at.

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Bigtruckseriesreview @ Youtube on Jan 16, 2015

NEVER EXPLAIN...NEVER COMPLAIN. Did Elon learn NOTHING from Jim Cramer? THEY KNOW NOTHING!

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Jdash1972 on Jan 17, 2015

Elon, you lying sack of s.....

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