Hyperdrive
Tesla Gets a $94 Billion Reality Check as EV Winter Sets In
- Valuation hit biggest ever for Tesla in first 9 days of a year
- China price cuts, Hertz’s EV sale, plant shutdown sour mood
The Tesla Gigafactory in Austin, Texas.
Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Tesla Inc. had a blockbuster 2023, as its shares more than doubled in 12 months. But 2024 is starting on a different note, with Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker off to its worst start to any year.
The company has lost more than $94 billion in market valuation in just the first two weeks of 2024. It’s not hard to figure out why, as the Austin, Texas-based EV maker has been pounded by a barrage of negative news: an about-face on EVs from the car rental giant Hertz Global Holdings Inc., yet another price cut for its cars made in China, and signs of rising labor costs.