Tesla went from a Cinderella story to 'horror show': Analyst

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Tesla (TSLA) has faced mounting challenges in 2024, garnering increasingly bearish sentiments from major shareholders. The EV maker's stock has fallen almost 40% year-to-date.

Wedbush Securities Managing Director Dan Ives recently put out a note claiming that "the clock has struck midnight" for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. He joins Yahoo Finance to discuss Tesla's recent performance and what the company's future may look like moving forward.

Ives elaborates on his stance: "This is really what I view when when I say 'clock striking midnight' — it comes down for Musk. Navigate the Category 5 storm just like he has in '18, 2020, and other. Otherwise, this is not just 'Trust me,"' because I think that's really the frustration now that, essentially, it went from a Cinderella story, magic carpet ride to what's been a bit of a horror show, especially the last three, four months."

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode.

This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video transcript

SEANA SMITH: One analyst that we're going to talk to next still maintains his buy rating on Tesla. But says, that the clock is striking midnight for Elon Musk because of many of those reasons that you just listed.

So for more on that, we want to bring in Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. Dan, it's great to see you here. So I was just going through your recent note that you put out this week. You're saying that the clock has struck midnight for Elon Musk that Tesla is going through a major, quote, "Category 5 storm" right now. Where do we go from here?

DAN IVES: I think we're going to find out Tuesday, because this is probably the worst period that I've seen, I'd say, in about six years for Tesla. And patience is wearing thin.

And you see from an investor perspective, and, obviously, many thrown in the towel, the long-term story is still there. And that's why we remain bullish. But no doubt, this is white knuckle. And there could be darker days ahead, if Musk does not handle the call, I think, like an adult in the room and actually give some vision and navigation with a lot of questions remaining.

MADISON MILLS: Dan, it's great to speak with you. Let's stick on this adult in the room concept, because a lot of the challenge here for Tesla is that the fundamentals don't always match up with what Elon Musk is purporting about deliveries and company fundamentals.

I know that you do a lot of traveling to Asia to take a look at what's going on beneath the hood for some of these manufacturers. What can you tell us from your experience on the ground that may not be making headlines or may not be making its way out of Elon Musk's mouth to investors?