Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell in Tuesday trading as the market reacted to executive instability and mounting pressure on its autonomous driving ambitions. Here’s what investors need to know.
What To Know: The latest blow came with news of the departure of Troy Jones, the company’s vice president of sales for North America and a 15-year veteran. His exit marks another significant leadership change, following top Elon Musk aide Omead Afshar last month, and comes amidst what has been described as “sales turmoil” for the electric vehicle giant.
Adding to investor concerns, a nominee to lead the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated in written testimony that regulators “cannot sit back and wait for problems to arise” with self-driving cars, signaling a potentially tougher oversight environment. This scrutiny follows a string of negative headlines for Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.
The company was recently forced in arbitration to pay nearly $18,000 to a customer after its FSD was deemed “nowhere near autonomous.” This legal setback compounds ongoing probes into traffic violations by its robotaxis in Austin.
Despite these challenges, CEO Elon Musk recently announced plans to expand the robotaxi service to the San Francisco Bay Area within “a month or two.”
Tesla is meanwhile scheduled to announce its latest quarterly financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, July 23. For the quarter, Wall Street analysts are forecasting EPS of 42.3 cents on total revenue of $22.79 billion.
Benzinga Edge Rankings: Based on Benzinga Edge stock rankings, Tesla exhibits the profile of a classic high-growth investment trading at a premium. The company scores exceptionally high for Growth at 90.93, indicating strong forward-looking expansion potential.
However, it receives a very low Value score of 10.39, suggesting that its current stock price is considered expensive relative to its fundamental financial metrics. Tesla’s other ratings are neutral, with a middling Momentum score of 45.01 and a Quality score of 49.98, indicating average marks for its recent price trends and overall financial health.
TSLA Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Tesla shares closed Tuesday’s session lower by 1.93% to $310.78. The stock has a 52-week high of $488.54 and a 52-week low of $182.
Read Also: Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Tech Under Fire Again After Robotaxi Nearly Hits Parked Vehicle: Report
How To Buy TSLA Stock
By now, you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Tesla — be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.
Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.
In the case of Tesla, which was trading at $310.78 as of when this article was written, $100 would buy you 0.32 shares of stock.
If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading; either way, it allows you to profit from the share price decline.
Image: Courtesy of Tesla
