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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +layout: post |
| 3 | +tags: [CNBC, Oppenheimer, Wedbush Securities, Barclays US, 中国政府网_中央人民政府门户网站, The State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Elon Musk, Elon Musk, The Boring Company, Neuralink, SpaceX, Starlink, Tesla, Twitter, X, xAI, President Donald J Trump (47), Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), President Donald J Trump Administration, President of the United States (POTUS), White House (WH), electric vehicles (EV), politics] |
| 4 | +categories: [Donald Trump] |
| 5 | +date: 2025-04-21 6:20 PM |
| 6 | +#excerpt: '' |
| 7 | +#image: 'BASEURL/assets/blog/img/.png' |
| 8 | +#description: |
| 9 | +#permalink: |
| 10 | +title: "Tesla Stock Down. Is It Due To Brand Damage or Brain Damage? Or Both?" |
| 11 | +--- |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +## [Tesla shares tumble ahead of first-quarter earnings report](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/21/tesla-shares-tumble-ahead-of-first-quarter-earnings-report.html) |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +Published Mon, Apr 21 20254:11 PM EDT |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +Lora Kolodny |
| 19 | +@in/lorakolodny/ |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +**Key Points** |
| 22 | +- [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) shares dropped almost 6% on Monday, a day ahead of the [company](https://www.tesla.com/)’s first-quarter earnings report. |
| 23 | +- Investors are seeking answers about CEO[^11] [Elon Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk)’s plans for the automaker, as he spends much of his time with the [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) [administration](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/), slashing the U.S. federal government. |
| 24 | +- The [company](https://www.tesla.com/)’s stock is now down 44% for the year thus far after wrapping its worst quarter since 2022 in March. |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +[Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) shares fell almost 6% on Monday, a day ahead of the [electric vehicle company](https://www.tesla.com/)’s first-quarter earnings report, as analysts fret over “ongoing brand erosion.” |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +The stock closed at \$227.50 leaving it less than $6 above its low for the year on April 8. The shares are now down 44% for the year after wrapping up their [worst quarter](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/31/tesla-plunges-36percent-in-first-quarter-worst-performance-since-2022.html) since 2022 in March. It’s the 12th time this year the stock has dropped by at least 5% in a single session. |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +CEO[^11] [Elon Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk)’s many distractions outside of [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/), especially his role within the [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) [administration](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/), are in focus, along with the [company](https://www.tesla.com/)’s progress on a long-delayed robotaxi and self-driving technology for its existing cars. |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +[^11]: @RalphHightower: With the myriad of companies that [Elon] is head of, he can be referred as a fractional CEO:<br />• [The Boring Company](https://www.boringcompany.com/)<br />• [Neuralink](https://neuralink.com/)<br />• [SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)<br />• [Starlink](https://www.starlink.com/)<br />• [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/)<br />• [Twitter](https://twitter.com/)<br />• [ X ](https://x.com/)<br />• [xAI](https://x.ai/) |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +In the [online forum](https://app.saytechnologies.com/tesla-2025-q1) that [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) uses to solicit investor inquiries in advance of its earnings calls, more than 300 questions were submitted pertaining to [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/)’s self-driving systems, around 200 came in about the [company](https://www.tesla.com/)’s Optimus humanoid robots in development, and more than 160 questions poured in about [Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk) individually. One investor asked, “What steps has the board of directors taken to mitigate the brand damage caused by Elon’s political activities?” |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +After spending \$290 million to help return [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) to the [White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/), [Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk) is now leading an initiative to slash tens of thousands of federal jobs, sell off or end leases for federal office buildings, and reduce U.S. government capacity. |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +[Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk)’s politics and antics have elicited a massive backlash in [Europe](https://commission.europa.eu/) and parts of the U.S. This year, the [company](https://www.tesla.com/) has been hit with waves of [protests](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-[administration](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/)/live-blog/tesla-elon-musk-anti-trump-protests-rcna198708), boycotts and some criminal activity that targeted [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) vehicles and facilities in response to [Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk). |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | +Earlier this month, [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) reported 336,681 vehicle deliveries in the first quarter, a 13% decline from the same period a year earlier. |
| 41 | + |
| 42 | +The [company](https://www.tesla.com/) is expected to report revenue of $21.24 billion for the first quarter, according to LSEG, which would mark a slight drop from the same period last year. Analysts expect earnings per share of 40 cents. Investors will be paying particularly close attention to any commentary about [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)’s widespread tariffs and the potential impact on revenue and earnings as the year progresses. |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +[Oppenheimer](https://www.oppenheimer.com/) analysts wrote in a note out Monday that “ongoing brand erosion” for [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) in the U.S. and [Europe](https://commission.europa.eu/) is weighing on sales already, but a “bigger issue for the [company](https://www.tesla.com/) is potential weakness in [China](https://www.gov.cn/) demand and margin impact due to the [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) tariffs.” |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +They wrote that competition in [China](https://www.gov.cn/), coupled with “nationalistic” consumer trends there, could “drive sales toward domestic brands.” [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) would then have to export more of its [China](https://www.gov.cn/)-made cars, which could lead to “downward pressure on pricing,” the Oppenheimer analysts said. |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +Caliber, a research firm that tracks how U.S. consumer sentiment is shifting around major brands, found that only 27% of its survey respondents in March would consider purchasing a [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/), compared to 46% in January 2022. |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +[Wedbush Securities](https://www.wedbush.com/) analyst Dan Ives, a longtime [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) bull, is hoping for a “turnaround vision” from [Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk) on Tuesday’s earnings call. |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +“[Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) has now unfortunately become a political symbol globally of the [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) [Administration](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/)/[DOGE](https://www.doge.gov/),” he wrote, noting that “[Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/)’s stock has been crushed since [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) stepped back into the [White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/).” |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +Ives estimated 15% to 20% “permanent demand destruction for future [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) buyers due to the brand damage [Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk) has created” by working for [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/). |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +Late last week, [Barclays](https://barclaycardus.com/) maintained the equivalent of a sell rating and slashed its price target on [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) to \$275 from \$325, citing a “confusing set-up” on the first-quarter with “weak fundamentals.” The firm said it could see a positive reaction if [Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk) is more focused on his automaker, and depending on what the [company](https://www.tesla.com/) discloses about an anticipated “FSD event,” referring to [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/)’s Full Self-Driving offering. |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +[Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) said in [announcing its reporting date](https://ir.tesla.com/press-release/tesla-first-quarter-2025-production-deliveries-and-deployments) that, in addition to earnings, it will provide a “live [company](https://www.tesla.com/) update,” language the [company](https://www.tesla.com/) hasn’t typically used in disclosures. |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +Watch: [Why investors are divided on Tesla’s turn to robots and self-driving cars](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/04/16/why-investors-are-divided-on-tesla-robots-and-self-driving-cars.html) |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +- [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/) |
| 63 | +- [Oppenheimer](https://www.oppenheimer.com/) |
| 64 | +- [Wedbush Securities](https://www.wedbush.com/) |
| 65 | +- [Barclays US](https://cards.barclaycardus.com/) |
| 66 | +- [中国政府网_中央人民政府门户网站](https://www.gov.cn/) |
| 67 | +- [The State Council of the People's Republic of China](https://english.www.gov.cn/) |
| 68 | +- [Elon Musk](https://ir.tesla.com/corporate/elon-musk) |
| 69 | +- [Elon Musk](https://x.com/elonmusk/) |
| 70 | +- [The Boring Company](https://www.boringcompany.com/) |
| 71 | +- [Neuralink](https://neuralink.com/) |
| 72 | +- [SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/) |
| 73 | +- [Starlink](https://www.starlink.com/) |
| 74 | +- [Tesla](https://www.tesla.com/) |
| 75 | +- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/) |
| 76 | +- [ X ](https://x.com/) |
| 77 | +- [xAI](https://x.ai/) |
| 78 | +- [President Donald J Trump (47)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/) |
| 79 | +- [Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)](https://www.doge.gov/) |
| 80 | +- [President Donald J Trump Administration](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/) |
| 81 | +- [President of the United States (POTUS)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) |
| 82 | +- [White House (WH)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) |
| 83 | +- electric vehicles (EV) |
| 84 | +- politics |
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