Tesla Tumbles as Musk Strategy Shift Widens Bull-Bear Divide
This article is for subscribers only.
The swath of initiatives Tesla Inc. unveiled Thursday is either a desperate move or a remarkably savvy strategy to adapt to a difficult market -- depending on who you ask on Wall Street.
The shares slumped as much as 8.8 percent Friday as the perennial debate between Elon Musk’s believers and naysayers intensified after the company laid out plans including a $35,000 Model 3 sedan, price cuts across its higher-end Model S and Model X, the closing of its stores and job cuts. At the same time, the moves mean Tesla probably won’t post a profit in the first quarter, as the company previously expected, although second-quarter profitability is “likely,” Musk said.