Tesla shares dropped by as much as 4.6% yesterday following a Consumer Reports article which described widespread reliability issues with the Model X. The article raised concerns about large warranty claims as well.
Model X facing reliability issues
On Tuesday, the article said Tesla owner message boards are filled with complaints from Model X owners about issues of design and the gull-wing doors of the vehicle. Also the massive curved windshield causes headlights and streetlights to appear distorted to drivers at night, the article stated.
This report follows a recent recall of 2,700 Model X cars due to concerns of safety about their third-row seats. The electric carmaker has been censured before for late production and delays in the shipments of cars.
Matt DeLorenzo, a managing editor for Kelley Blue Book, told Fortune that a proxy statement made public on Friday says CEO Elon Musk has achieved half of his 2022 goals, putting him on track to receive $1.6 billion worth of stock options, and this might concern investors.
“I think it’s a combination of things today. The stock options Elon has been awarded might have the market worried that whatever he does with the stock will dilute the value of it,” DeLorenzo says.
He said there are still very few Model X SUVs on the road and cautioned that the warranty claims could be higher than Tesla’s expected expenses. DeLorenzo notes also that the news of bugs in the Model X is not new.
“It’s not been a smooth launch and even Tesla has admitted they’ve had issues with the doors and those types of things. Remember, there aren’t a lot of Model Xs out there yet. This might be an overreaction,” DeLorenzo said.
Tesla shares on a rollercoaster ride
Citron Research, an influential investment firm, has taken a short position on Tesla’s stock, and this has impacted the price greatly. The firm expects the stock to hit $100 by the end of the year. Since September 2014, Tesla shares have been on a rollercoaster ride. In February, its shares fell to as low as $141.74 but have recovered since then.
Before recovering later in the day on Tuesday, the electric carmaker’s shares dropped to as low as $241.26. On Tuesday, Tesla shares closed down 2.56% at $247.37. Year to date, the stock is down by almost 4%, while in the last year, it is up by almost 20%. The stock has a 52-week high of $286.65 and a 52-week low $141.05.
