Tesla Shares Sink Below $200 Amid Trade Woes, Cautious Analysts

(Bloomberg) -- As the challenges for Tesla Inc. continue to mount, the shares of the company are plunging sharply, falling below $200 for the first time since December 2016 on Monday.

The stock has been struggling this year, down nearly 41% to date, but the recent deepening trade rift between U.S. and China, cost-cutting moves, fallout from a fatal crash involving Autopilot and cautious commentary from Wall Street analysts have sent the shares into a free fall.

In a note Sunday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the electric-car maker faced a “Kilimanjaro-like uphill climb” to hit profitability goals in the second half of the year, while Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill said the latest report from the National Transportation Safety Board on a fatal Tesla crash “could cast doubt on Tesla’s self-driving capabilities, which have been highly touted by Mr. Musk.”

“The Autopilot feature has been an integral component of the company’s perceived competitive differentiation and hence its high valuation,” Gill wrote in a note to clients, adding that any signs of safety issues surrounding the feature could cause the value of Tesla’s brand and its share price to deteriorate.

Tesla shares dropped as much as 7.3% to $195.56 in New York on Monday, touching the lowest level since Dec. 13, 2016.

To contact the reporter on this story: Esha Dey in New York at edey@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brad Olesen at bolesen3@bloomberg.net, Esha Dey

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.