Tesla stocks down for fifth week in a row, longest losing streak in three years

Elon Musk’s EV company Tesla Inc. shares dropped for the fifth straight week this week and closed at $580.88, down by 1.5%.

This is the longest weekly losing streak for the company since March 2018 and comes amid investors pulling out of riskier stock options.

Their mood is being driven by growing concerns of inflation and its impact on the US economy, as well as some intense flare-ups of Covid-19 infections in some countries.

The plunge is also followed several unflattering headlines and the unveiling of a formidable electric pickup truck by Ford Motor Co.

The steady stream of negative incremental news about Tesla over the past month, including multiple crashes, signs of a slowdown in sales in China and a potential delay to the company’s plant in Germany, has made it hard for the stock to find favour with investors in a largely risk-off trading environment.

Musk’s persistent tweeting about Bitcoin, which crashed earlier this month, also hasn’t helped Tesla shares.

“Musk seems to be losing some of his mojo with retail investors,” Roth Capital Partners analyst Craig Irwin said, reflecting on the stock’s recent weakness. The analyst doesn’t see the tide turning in Tesla’s favour anytime soon, as he expects more EV announcements from traditional automakers and possibly more leaks regarding tech giant Apple Inc.’s plans for entering the space.

“This would draw attention away from Tesla, and likely pressure the shares,” Irwin said.

Losing rank

Musk recently lost his spot as the world’s second-richest person to LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault as the electric vehicle maker's shares.

Musk, who held the top spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as recently as March, now has a fortune of $160.6 billion, down 24% from its January high.