Tesla shares have plummeted – is it the Cybertruck delay?
Tesla (TSLA) shares rose for three days after a high valuation from Goldman Sachs but fell sharply by 6.75% on Thursday. Coincided the release of news media postponement of the start of production of Cybertrack pickups end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023. In addition, Bloomberg writes about a potential security problem for Tesla cars.
Removed the start date of production of the first Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup truck on the Tesla website – 2022;
However, citing anonymous sources, Reuters wrote that the company plans to start production of a pickup truck in 2023.
The postponement since the start of production was postponed – initially, the launch plan for the end of 2021. Elon Musk wrote on Twitter to ask Cybertruck about a “nightmare for the supply chain,” saying that these problems are not over yet.
A source told Reuters that the delay is because Tesla is changing the characteristics and functions of an electric pickup truck to make an attractive product, as competition in this segment heats up. Tesla is still lagging in pickups – the most profitable segment, with the highest demand in North America.
Rivian (RIVN), a newcomer to the market, was the first to launch production, but the company is having difficulty increasing production volumes. In December, Rivian lowered its production forecast. As a result, Vivian’s shares have fallen 31.44% over the past month and 7.13% on Thursday.
Ford (F), by contrast, said it would almost double the annual production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck to 150,000 vehicles due to a boom in demand ahead of the start of sales this spring.
Ford shares recently hit an all-time high, thanks to a 146% increase over the past year, and the legendary automaker’s market capitalization exceeded $100 billion for the first time. As for Tesla, the company plans to produce its Cybertruck pickups at a new plant in Texas to begin building Model Y cars earlier this year.
Simultaneously with the news about the postponement of Cybertruck, the report from Bloomberg came out that David Colombo, a young cybersecurity researcher from Germany, accidentally discovered that there are vulnerabilities in the software of Tesla cars.
These software errors can lead to the fact that attackers can remotely control such functions of these cars as opening and closing doors, turning on music, and disabling security functions. However, they do not have access to driving, braking, or other parts.
The specialist identified more than 25 Tesla cars in 13 European and North American countries vulnerable to such attacks.In early January, Tesla shares jumped amid the announcement of record deliveries of electric vehicles for the fourth quarter.
After the pullback, the shares rose again on Monday, as Goldman analyst Mark Delaney called them “the best choice of 2022” and raised the target price to $1,200 (Thursday’s closing price was $1,031.56). The analyst said that record deliveries, increased profitability, and production should make Tesla one of the most profitable companies in 2022.
