While he is obsessed with Twitter and his conception of freedom of expression, Elon Musk worries Tesla shareholders. It is the third largest investor in the brand of electric cars that is today sounding the alarm.
We have already mentioned previously the consequences of Elon Musk’s actions on the Tesla brand. In recent days, the electric car manufacturer’s situation seemed to be improving. But the thinning will have been short-lived, since Musk sold three billion Tesla shares this week.
For several weeks, the billionaire has been focusing on redesigning Twitter. But Tesla’s loss in value is such that KoGuan Leo, the brand’s third-largest individual shareholder, is calling for a CEO change.
“Elon abandoned Tesla, and Tesla doesn’t have a functioning CEO”wrote the investor on Twitter. “Tesla deserves and needs a full-time working CEO. »
Anyone who owns more than 3.5 billion euros in shares is afraid of seeing the value of Tesla fall. Indeed, the action is worth around 150 dollars, the lowest value since November 2020.
“I don’t care if Elon stays or leaves Tesla”
However, Leo reminds that Tesla is a builder of the future, with or without Musk. He would like to see someone appointed as general manager, in order to manage Tesla on a daily basis. But he does not intend to sell his shares at this time.
“Honestly, I don’t care if Elon stays or leaves Tesla. Tesla is a big company and $160 per share is low value. Elon is a simple employee. He is our employee… Elon was a proud father, but Tesla has grown. »
“A performer, we need someone like Tim Cook (Apple director, editor’s note), not Elon. I plan to invest several more billions, because Tesla will be the biggest company, with or without Elon. »
The investor, who has decided to buy three million additional shares, is annoyed on the other hand to see Musk parting with his shares. “Today, I’m putting an additional $500 million on the table to support Tesla’s stock price at $160, while Elon has sold $35 billion of his stock, and possibly more in the past few days. »
Real difficulties for Tesla in China
Amid these financial considerations, the difficulties are real for Tesla. According to Bloomberg, production at the Shanghai Gigafactory will slow as sales decline.
Tesla has denied Bloomberg’s comments, which reveal that the firm will reduce production of the Model Y by 20%. Sales continue to be strong for the brand in the Middle Kingdom, with 100,291 units in November. But the competition is sharpening its weapons, and the Chinese manufacturer BYD sold more than twice as many vehicles in the same month.
To improve its numbers, Tesla has reduced the price of its cars by 9%, which helps reduce inventory. But in China, where the Covid situation remains very precarious, sales are not picking up.
Also, the manufacturer seems to be choosing caution and will avoid building up too large a stock of vehicles. The recession might settle permanently in the country, and imports for Europe are no longer as important a necessity as before with the arrival of the Gigafactory Berlin.
At the moment, the situation is not worrying on a global scale, but as in China, competition will pose a threat to Tesla in the near future. Tesla’s electric market share is currently 64% in the United States, up from 71% in 2021 and 79% in 2020.
According to S&P Global Mobility, this fall will accelerate with the proliferation of competition. The agency predicts that Tesla’s market share will drop to just 20% by 2025.
With the industry transitioning to electric, Tesla will continue to sell a good number of vehicles. But the period of non-competition is over, and the brand will have to learn to find its place in the overall market.
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