Tesla shares start 2023 lower on worries over weak demand, logistical issues

Tesla Inc shares kicked off 2023 with a 5% drop on Tuesday, extending a selloff from last year on growing worries about weakening demand and logistical problems that have hampered deliveries.

The latest slide came after the world's most valuable automaker missed estimates for fourth-quarter deliveries despite shipping a record number of vehicles.

At least four brokerages cut their price targets and earnings estimates, looking for more downside after the stock suffered its biggest annual loss since going public in 2010.


The result "came at the at the cost of higher incentives, suggesting lower pricing and margin", brokerage J.P. Morgan said in a note, lowering their price target by $25 to $125.

Shares of the electric-vehicle maker were trading at $117 before the bell, after losing 65% of their market value in 2022, their worst year on record.

The company, which had a peak market capitalization of more than $1 trillion, now has a valuation of about $390 billion.

That still makes it the world's most valuable automaker, even though its production is a fraction of rivals such as Japan's Toyota Motor Corp.