Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) posted another day of declines today, losing another 2% in afternoon trading. Analysts are lowering their price targets for the company, and with some suggesting shares could drop even down to $100 or lower. Meanwhile the lower the automaker’s stock goes, the less rich CEO Elon Musk becomes.
Will Tesla fall to $100?
Forbes contributor Clem Chambers is of the view that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) could indeed dip to $100. He notes that since shares hit $180, they are now down by about a third. He also says moves like the ones Tesla has been doing just can’t be sustained because the “up like a rocket, down like a rock” pattern just repeats over and over.
In addition, he presents the bearish case about Tesla’s fundamentals again. He doesn’t think the company can hold a valuation which is entirely out of step with the rest of the auto industry.
Where will Tesla go next?
Chambers also notes that U.S. investors tend to invest with their hearts, and I would certainly agree that this is why Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose beyond where Musk was comfortable with. So where will the automaker’s stock go next? Will it fall to $100 as Chambers believes?
The automaker’s stock has been on a downward trend in recent weeks, but he notes that trends tend to reverse. Originally when Tesla shares were up at $180, he recommended that investors look for the upward trend to break and then “put a range around the volatility and wait to see which way it breaks.” He says the advice is the same for the decline of Tesla shares, and he thinks the “key level” for Tesla is going to be $100 a share.
He says since so much of the trading around Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been emotional, the impact of round numbers is probably going to be a key factor. I noted back when the automaker’s stock was approaching $200 that the level was an emotional one for investors. They pushed it all the way up into the $190s but just didn’t have the heart to push it higher. I think Chambers is right about $100 being a key level for Tesla. What will investors do if it does approach that level? Will they allow it to dip below that number?
Tesla’s Elon Musk losing money
Meanwhile as Tesla shares are declining, CEO Elon Musk’s position in the automaker could be under $2.5 billion, according to estimates from Street Insider. They believe he owns more than the 28.3 million shares Musk reported on a recent regulatory filing, however, so it will be difficult to calculate exactly what his stake is worth.
But you shouldn’t feel too bad for Musk. He’s got his hands in plenty of other pots of money, including SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) and his private company SpaceX.
