Austin, TX
Tesla shares tumble below $150 per share
Tesla’s stock tumbled below $150 per share, giving up all the gains made over the past year as the electric vehicle maker reels from falling sales and steep discounts intended to lure more buyers.
Shares in the Elon Musk-owned company slid nearly 4% in intraday trading Thursday, in what now stands as the third worst week for the stock in 2024, a year that has been dismal for Tesla investors. The Austin, Texas company’s shares are down 12.4% this week and more than 39% this year.
Shares of Tesla Inc. last traded at the $150 level in Jan. 2023.
It’s also been a bad year for employees. Tesla said Monday that it was cutting 10% of its staff globally, about 14,000 jobs. The next day, Tesla announced it would try to re-instate Musk’s $56 billion pay package that was rejected by a Delaware judge in January, who said that the arrangement was dictated by Musk and was the product of sham negotiations with directors who were not independent of him.
At the time of the Delaware court ruling, Musk’s package was worth more than $55.8 billion, but the stock slide has cut that to $44.9 billion at the close of trading on Friday, according to a company filing this week.
Tesla shares hit an all-time intraday high of $415.50 in Nov. 2021, adjusted for a 3-for-1 stock split that took effect in August 2022.
Tesla sales fell sharply last quarter as competition increased worldwide, electric vehicle sales growth slowed, and price cuts failed to draw more buyers. The company said it delivered 386,810 vehicles from January through March, nearly 9% below the 423,000 it sold in the same quarter of last year.
Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush who has been very bullish on Tesla’s stock, called the first quarter sales numbers an “unmitigated disaster.”
“For Musk, this is a fork in the road time to get Tesla through this turbulent period otherwise dark days could be ahead,” Ives wrote this week.
Yet on Thursday, Deutsche Bank joined other industry analysts in voicing concern over Musk’s big bet on autonomous vehicles as it stripped the company of its “buy” rating, citing Tesla’s “change of strategic priority to Robotaxi.”
Wall Street expects that Tesla will report a decline in first quarter earnings next week and many are wondering if there’s any near-term catalyst for growth that would end Tesla’s stock slide. Industry analysts were expecting a new small electric vehicle for the masses that would cost around $25,000, the Model 2, but there were reports last week that Musk was scrapping that project.
Musk disputed the reports, but wrote on X, the social media platform that he owns, that Tesla would unveil a robotaxi at an event on Aug. 8.
Uncertainty over the release of a cheaper vehicle from Tesla has altered the equation for analysts like Deutche Bank’s Emmanuel Rosner.
Such a delay would tie Tesla’s future more closely to “cracking the code on full driverless autonomy, which represents a significant technological, regulatory and operational challenge. We view Tesla’s shift as thesis-changing,” Rosner wrote.
Since last year, Tesla has cut prices as much as $20,000 on some models as it faced increasing competition and slowing demand.
Other automakers also have had to cut electric vehicle production and reduce prices to move EVs off dealership lots. Ford, for instance, cut production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup, and lopped up to $8,100 off the price of the Mustang Mach E electric SUV in order to sell 2023 models.
U.S. electric vehicle sales growth slowed to 3.3% in the first quarter of the year, far below the 47% increase that fueled record sales and a 7.6% market share last year. Sales of new vehicles overall grew 5.1%, and the EV market share declined to 7.15%.
In addition to massive job cuts this week, Tesla this week announced the departure of two high-placed executives.
Andrew Baglino, Tesla’s senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, is leaving after 18 years with the company.
Rohan Patel, senior global director of public policy and business development and eight-year Tesla veteran, is also departing.
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin city leaders gathered on East 11th Street on Juneteenth to celebrate the “Black Artists Matter” mural before it must be removed under an order from the Texas Department of Transportation. The mural and the city’s rainbow crosswalk are slated for removal in compliance with a Texas Department of Transportation directive requiring cities to remove political ideologies from roadways. Last October, Gov. Greg Abbott directed TxDOT to enforce the policy.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson stood on the blocked-off street where the yellow letters spelling “Black Artists Matter” are painted on the roadway’s surface. “We will never forget that when the state decided to target our murals, the community stood together to celebrate our city’s diversity, spirit, and creativity,” Watson said.
Watson criticized the state’s actions, saying, “The state government engages in negative rhetoric and threats, it targets communities that it disagrees with and seeks retribution.”
In response to the order, Watson formed the Public Spaces Task Force to identify other ways to celebrate diversity in Austin.
ALSO| Screwworm medications straining animal shelter budgets across Texas
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Daphne McDole, chief executive officer of the African American Cultural Heritage District and a member of the task force, said she wanted the event held on Juneteenth because of its significance. “I wanted to do it on Juneteenth, it was significant to me because I knew that that was the day my community would be in the district. We will be celebrating over here all day, so it was appropriate,” McDole said.
Task force members said they are exploring alternatives to honor East Austin’s history and diversity. They noted that city leaders in San Antonio created rainbow sidewalks after removing rainbow crosswalks, but said Austin will pursue its own approach.
Task force chair Steven Rivas said the community is focused on preserving the meaning behind the markings. “We chose to come together as a community and find a way to respect what these markings mean and build upon them. If we can’t have them in the street, we’re going to put them off the street,” Rivas said.
AUSTIN, Texas — The screwworm outbreak is having a major impact on animal shelter budgets across Texas. Instant kill and preventative medications for dogs and cats are an unprecedented expense.
Paul is a rescue dog from South Texas, where he was living on the streets and starving. He is now at Austin Pets Alive! getting Screwworm prevention medication and the treatment he needs to get healthy.
“Any dog that enters our shelter period, but especially if they look like this, we are going over them with a fine-tooth comb and looking for anything that might be a wound where a screwworm might have been able to gain access,” said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, CEO and President of Austin Pets Alive!
RELATED| FDA authorizes generic over-the-counter drug to treat New World screwworm in pets
Dr. Jefferson says dogs and cats need regular checks of their eyes, noses, ears, and underneath their fur. But Austin Pets Alive! says the best protection is a combination of Capstar, which is an instant-kill medication for existing active screwworm larvae, and prescription preventatives that provide ongoing protection when administered every 30 days.
“Just to buy the initial Capstar for our program, it was close to $10,000,” said Rebecca Giamona, Asst. Medical Care Director at Austin Pets Alive!
Giamona says preventative meds are also putting a heavy financial strain on the nonprofit’s budget at a cost of around $70,000.
“We need about 5,000 doses of the monthly preventative, and they are roughly $14 to $15 per dose,” said Giamona.
Products with the active ingredients ending in l, a, n, e, r are highly effective at preventing and treating infestations. But keeping Paul and every shelter animal up to date will take help from the public.
“Donations, and hopefully some more donations,” said Giamona.
An infestation of New World Screwworm can be painful, disfiguring, and potentially deadly for animals. Most cases involve livestock, especially cattle, but dogs and cats can also get infestations.
AUSTIN, Texas – Central Texans gather to celebrate Juneteenth or “Freedom Day” on June 19 and commemorate the end of slavery.
What you can do:
The Greater East Austin Youth Association (GEAYA) is hosting the Central Texas Juneteenth Parade and Festival today (6/19).
It’s free and taking place at Rosewood Park in East Austin located at 2300 Rosewood Ave.
The schedule for the events is as follows:
- ACME Juneteenth FunRun – 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
- Juneteenth Historical Parade – 10 AM – 12 PM
- Park Celebration and Fireworks – 12 PM – 9:45 PM
Other events
On June 20, the Carver Kickback: Juneteenth Edition will be taking place 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural, and Genealogy Center located at 1165 Angelina Street.
It will be a day of celebration and remembrance and there will be BBQ plates and music as well as vendors and hands-on activations.
The backstory:
Juneteenth commemorates the end of formal slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and more than one month following the end of the American Civil War.
Colloquially known as “The Black 4th of July,” Juneteenth marks the beginning of an African American journey to carve a new place in society for free people to shape identities independent of racial caricature, eradicate slave culture, promote ethnic pride, and create economic prosperity.
The Source: Information from City of Austin and Greater East Austin Youth Association and reporting by Jessica Rivera.
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