Tesla emergencies to consider adding a “really seasoned operator” to manage the mass-market manufacturer, Consumer Edge Research’s James Albertine instructed CNBC on Friday.
“They need to prove that there’s true independent, sort of, checks and balances between the ship aboard and senior management,” the senior analyst said on “Power Lunch.”
Albertine, who is equal weight on the stock, commended CEO Elon Musk for going his mark in the automotive industry with his electric car company. But Tesla needs a “different skill set” to build 500,000 sections a year and expand into China, he contended.
“There are significant execution hurdles ahead,” Albertine added.
Musk’s operation skills have come into question ever since he started acting erratically months ago. Most particularly, he found himself in trouble with the SEC when he tweeted about taking the company private. He also appeared to smoke pot on a podcast.
Albertine thought Tesla has to continue to progress from its third-quarter earnings before he decides to upgrade to a buy rating. He will take into rumination who the company nominates to the board of directors.
“This is a long overdue sort of call here for more streamlined affectionate of focus on operations and kind of corporate governance from an independent board perspective,” he said.
On Friday, a Jefferies analyst eliminated Tesla’s price target from $360 to $450, saying the company improved productivity.
Shares of the automotive assemblage reached a turning point Thursday when they closed higher than the roughly $360 conversion toll on the $920 million in convertible bonds due in March. It was the first time they closed above that price since beforehand August when Musk floated the idea of taking the company he co-founded private.
The stock dipped 1.4 percent Friday to come at around $358.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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