MW A known Tesla bull calls for Musk to 'step up.' Will Musk listen?

By Claudia Assis

There is 'little to no sign' of Musk at Tesla, and that's hurting the stock, one analyst says

Just days after saying Tesla Inc.'s recent stock selloff was overdone, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a well-known tech analyst and Tesla bull, is taking a different approach: He's talking to the manager.

Ives called on Chief Executive Elon Musk to "step up" in a Tuesday note that was more pointed than usual, saying that Musk needs to seek balance between his involvement with the Trump administration and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and running Tesla $(TSLA)$.

"Musk needs to step up as Tesla CEO at this critical juncture," Ives said.

President Donald Trump and Musk are "connected at the hip with Musk essentially living at the White House and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. There has been little to no sign of Musk at any Tesla factory or manufacturing facility the last two months and perception has become reality for Tesla shares," he said.

Tesla's stock recovered some ground on Tuesday after its worst one-day drubbing in four and a half years and its lowest close in nearly five months.

It is off about 50% from a December peak that was mostly fueled by hopes that a Trump administration would be beneficial for Tesla's autonomous-driving and artificial-intelligence hopes.

Musk donated hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Trump before the November election, which Ives at the time called a "bet for the ages." Ives also said last week that the Tesla selloff over politics was overdone.

Musk's involvement with DOGE and other aspects of the political sphere, including voicing support for the far right in Europe, has been followed by protests at Tesla facilities, alleged vandalization of Tesla electric vehicles and reports of altercations between protesters and Tesla owners.

"Tesla investors are seeing patience wear thin as Musk is not reading the room," Ives continued. "We believe this is a 'moment of truth' for Musk and Tesla." If Musk continues show "no attention" to Tesla during those turbulent times, then brand damage will become more pervasive, he said, adding that right now, that damage is "very contained," with very few Tesla owners second-guessing buying a Tesla due to Musk.

Tesla is scheduled to report first-quarter sales in early April. Some Wall Street analysts recently have dialed down their expectations, with consensus standing at 435,000 EVs, which would be an increase of 12% from the first quarter of 2024.

Worrying signs, however, have come more recently from sales in China and in Europe.

It remains to be seen whether Musk will provide Tesla shareholders with any substantial updates about his running of the company.

He has not directly addressed the recent stock losses, but on his X social-media platform he replied to a post listing the biggest Tesla stock declines, saying, "It will be fine long-term."

Musk also has reposted messages in support of Tesla, including some posters showing their recently bought Teslas, as well as messages against the ongoing protests. He also thanked Trump after the latter said on his Truth Social platform that he would buy "a brand new Tesla" as a show of support for Musk.

Tesla shares have held on their outperformance versus the S&P 500 SPX in the past 12 months, up 27% versus the index's 9% gain. So far this year, however, the stock is down 44%, compared with a 5% decline for the index.

-Claudia Assis

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March 11, 2025 12:28 ET (16:28 GMT)

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