Tesla Inc. stock on Thursday rose for the first time in six sessions, boosted by a leaked email from Chief Executive Elon Musk promising record-breaking sales for the company.
Tesla TSLA, +1.43% shares were up 2%, hovering around the psychologically important $200 mark.
Earlier Thursday, Electrek, an online publication mostly focused on the Silicon Valley car maker, reported that Musk had sent an email to employees late Wednesday, saying that Tesla could beat a previous delivery record and had more than 50,000 net new orders for this quarter.
“Based on current trends, we have a good chance of exceeding the record 90,700 deliveries of Q4 last year and making this the highest deliveries/sales quarter in Tesla history!” Musk reportedly wrote in the email.
Tesla did not immediately return a request for comment about the new Musk email.
Tesla last month reported first-quarter deliveries that missed Wall Street expectations, adding to the worries about the company’s short term. Fourth-quarter deliveries, while also missing forecasts, were a high-water mark for the car maker.
Musk last week reportedly sent an email about “hard-core” cost cuts, which spooked Wall Street and kicked off Tesla’s extended downdraft.
In recent days, several Wall Street analysts have lowered their expectations for the company and aired their concerns, mostly centering on demand fears and liquidity. More negative takes have trickled in.
Related: Tesla stock ‘bear case’ is $10, Morgan Stanley says
Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA, cut his 12-month price target on Tesla by $50 to $150 in a note on Thursday.
“We see shares continuing to trade lower on a lack of near-term catalysts,” Nelson said in the note to clients. “While (Tesla’s) recent capital raise helps ease liquidity worries, we remain highly concerned about its vehicle sales and margins. (Tesla’s) federal EV tax credit is set to decline by another 50% to $1,875/vehicle at the end of next month, which we believe will place it at a disadvantage to EV competitors still eligible for the full $7,500 credit.”
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Tesla’s “management’s recent comments about its cash burn raises the question of why Tesla didn’t issue more equity,” he said.
The shares have lost 30% in the past 12 months and 42% so far this year. That contrasts with gains of about 3% and 13% for the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.19% in the same period.
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