85% of Investors Say "Musk's Political Activities Negatively Impact Tesla"
Survey of 245 by CNBC Reflects Growing Public Dissatisfaction
45% of Investors Expect Tesla Stock Price to Rise
Eight out of ten investors in the U.S. stock market believe that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is negatively impacting Tesla through his political activities.
According to U.S. economic media CNBC and Investing.com on the 12th (local time), in a survey conducted by Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas on 245 investors the previous day, 85% of respondents said Musk's political activities have a "negative" or "very negative" impact on Tesla's business fundamentals.
Specifically, 45% of respondents answered "negative," while the remaining 40% responded "very negative." Three percent said the impact was "positive," and 12% considered it "insignificant."
Although the survey sample size is small, CNBC analyzed that these results indicate recent signs of growing public dissatisfaction with Musk as he gains attention over various issues in U.S. and international politics.
Musk's political recognition increased after he publicly supported then-President Donald Trump ahead of last year's election. After Trump took office, Musk became head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and rapidly rose to power within the Trump administration. Musk's relentless moves to restructure by cutting federal government spending and personnel sparked discontent both inside and outside the U.S.
In the Morgan Stanley survey, when asked about Tesla's sales performance outlook for this year, 59% of respondents expected a decrease compared to last year, with 21% predicting a decline of more than 10% year-over-year.
Only 19% of respondents anticipated Tesla's sales volume to increase this year compared to last year, while the remaining 23% expected sales to remain similar to last year.
Despite Tesla's recent sharp stock price drop, more investors predicted a rise rather than a fall. Forty-five percent of respondents forecast Tesla's stock price to increase by more than 11% by the end of the year, whereas about 36% expected it to fall by more than 11%. The remaining 19% predicted the stock would fluctuate around the $220 level within about 10%.
Tesla's stock price plunged 15.4% on the 10th, rebounded 3.79% on the 11th, and rose sharply again on the 12th for the second consecutive day.
Amid Tesla's weak stock price and sales, President Trump parked five Tesla vehicles at the White House the previous day and announced he would purchase one of them. Trump personally got into a Model S sedan and praised the car as beautiful and excellent.
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Additionally, when asked by reporters at the White House whether those attacking Tesla stores should be classified as "domestic terrorists," Trump responded, "We will do that," adding, "They are harming a great American company. We will stop them."
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