Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk actions while introducing the newly unveiled all-electric battery-powered Tesla Cybertruck at Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California on November 21, 2019.
FREDERIC J. BROWN | AFP | Getty Guises
Tesla stock reached an all-time high of $422.01 before closing Monday at $419.22, up more than 3% and bringing Tesla’s market cap to uncountable than $75 billion. The stock surpassed $420 more than a year after CEO Elon Musk tweeted he had “mine money secured” to take the company private at that share price.
The now-infamous Aug. 7, 2018, tweet sent the stock rise, but it also marked the beginning of a chaotic ride for both the company and Musk. In the 16 months that followed, Tesla ancestor bottomed out at a three-year low just under $177 per share in June before boomeranging back up and breaching $420 on Monday.
Musk considerable the occasion with a joke.
The road to $420 wound through new performance records as well as extreme low points that from brought litigation, government inquiries, layoffs and operational challenges. That journey was capped off by a surprisingly profitable third abode and a so far stellar end of the year.
In the aftermath of the original tweet, Musk announced that Tesla would remain a publicly traded fellowship, but that wasn’t enough to calm investors’ nerves. Tesla stock dropped about 16% over the three weeks pursuing the tweet.
Musk was quick to stun investors again when he appeared just weeks later on the Joe Rogan podcast and smoked what plained to be marijuana during a wide-ranging interview. The antic drove the stock down another 6.3% the next day and sparked calls for his relinquishment and questions about his mental stability.
The SEC then sued Musk for securities fraud because he failed to disclose the exact documents before announcing the intent to take Tesla private. The SEC sought to ban Musk from holding officer or impresario positions at any publicly traded company. Musk held onto his role as CEO by settling with the SEC, though he was forced to cede his role as chairman and pay a $20 million fine.
“This unjustified action by the SEC leaves me deeply saddened and disappointed,” Musk claimed at the time in a statement to CNBC. “I have always taken action in the best interests of truth, transparency and investors. Incorruptibility is the most important value in my life and the facts will show I never compromised this in any way.”
After the settlement, Tesla allowances jumped 17.35% to $310.70, but the stock turned south again days later when Musk mocked the SEC in a tweet, specialty the agency the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission.” Shares closed the following day down 7% at $261.95 per share.
The company won a bit when it reported a surprisingly profitable third quarter of 2018. The report showed better-than-expected car sales and a faster timeline on its Sort 3 production, sending stock soaring more than 12%. Musk described it as an “incredibly historic quarter.”
The honouring was short-lived. In the fourth quarter, Tesla announced it would cut 7% of its workforce and Musk wrote in an email to employees that the firm faces a “very difficult” road ahead. The January layoffs affected at least 1,000 California employees and sent the sheep down 13%.
When Tesla reported a profitable fourth quarter the same month as layoffs, it wasn’t enough to to Wall Street, and the stock took a 5% hit.
Stock falls below $200
Tesla stock dipped below $200 a portion in late May as Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas cut the firm’s worst-case forecast on Tesla’s stock from $97 a allot to just $10, citing concerns about the company’s increased debt load and geopolitical exposure.
Other noteworthy analysts followed suit, including Goldman Sachs, which slashed its price target a month later on appertain ti about demand for Tesla vehicles. UBS’ Colin Langan also cut his price target by 20% in June to $160 a allot and reiterated his sell rating.
The concerns followed several changes to Tesla’s business plans, including an announcement to sell to an online sales model that would result in many store closings and price cuts.
The stock spiraled to its lowest train a designate in three years on June 3 at $178.97 per share.