Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), the stock people love and love to hate on, is currently in the hate phase of its relationship with certain hedge funds and stock analysts.
Jim Chanos thinks Tesla is overvalued
Speaking in London, famed short seller Jim Chanos added his name to the list of those who think Tesla is overvalued. Chanos was quoted as saying Tesla is a testament to “our ability to trust 10 year forecasts from people who can’t get 1 year forecasts right.”
Negative comments from Chanos come as one of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s most ardent supporters on Wall Street reduced his expectations for the electronic car maker.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas slashed his 2015 earnings expectations for Tesla in half and cut sales expectations for the company’s SUV style Model X to 5,000 units from 15,000.
“There are many other companies that do not follow this philosophy that may be a more attractive home for investor capital,” Musk wrote in a letter to shareholders. “Tesla is not going to change.”
Tesla’s problem with Falcon Doors
The Model X has taken several hits over the past few months, including production delays and the fact that the car’s “falcon wing doors” could be difficult to manufacture on a large scale roll out. Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has repeatedly said the falcon doors are not difficult to produce and that customers desire a Model X with distinctive doors. The company has not been developed any alternative designs. Earlier in November, Tesla said it was delaying the launch of the Model X, expecting to deliver the new SUV in the third quarter of 2015. Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the delay might hurt Tesla in the short run, but made the case it’s better in the long run to wait for a product that will “delight customers,” according to a CNN Money report.
In an investor call, Musk noted the company would sell 33,000 cars in 2014, 2,000 shy of previous expectations. The key to watch is demand, and Consumer Reports published a chronicle of Tesla Model S problems, citing glitches in the luxury electronic car. But a story citing a source inside Tesla could be most damaging. It said “the company has about 2,300 remaining 2014 Model S cars, including showroom display cars,” and that the company is selling those at a discount.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) being sold at a discount!
Not so said Musk. “Demand is not our issue; production is our issue,” Musk was quoted as saying in a Business Insider article. “We have more demand than we can address and levers we can pull to increase demand, and we’re not doing it.”
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is down $9.34 to 248.36 today. Many analysts have been calling for Tesla to hit the $220 level and below, and it came close in October 224.59 on October 13.
