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Analysts are digging into the ramifications of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s explosive feud with President Trump on Thursday. While the barrage of insults and accusations has stopped, the question remains for investors if the drama will impact the stock?
Citi Index analyst Fiona Cincotta said it was obvious that threats lobbed back and forth between Musk and Trump are unlikely to come into fruition. “I don’t expect this to blow out into anything more serious than a war of words for a couple of days,” highlighted Cincotta.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said the feud does not change the firm’s bullish view of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and the autonomous view, but did see it as a fly in the ointment of the Trump regulatory framework going forward.
Taking a more cautious view, CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson said the selloff reflects a number of other factors like an unjustified run-up in Tesla’s (TSLA) following its Q1 earnings release, ongoing market share losses in China and Europe, and a realization that next week’s Robotaxi launch in Austin could disappoint.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on Tesla (TSLA) to $285 from $295, due mainly to weaker monthly data from the U.S., Europe, and China.
On Seeking Alpha, analyst KM Capital is positive on Tesla’s (TSLA) upcoming robotaxi launch. “Even if Tesla struggles to beat Waymo and remains number two in the industry, it will still create substantial value for shareholders as the industry is expected to demonstrate explosive growth,” noted KM Capital.
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were up 4.1% in premarket trading after shedding 14.3% on Thursday.