Sorry, Howard: Tesla stock drops below a level plugged by Trump's commerce secretary as 'cheap'
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- Tesla stock has plunged as markets go through the worst crash since the pandemic.
- Shares dropped below a level commerce chief Howard Lutnick said was the cheapest Tesla would ever be.
- The carmaker's stock is down 52% from its all-time high in December.
Tesla stock's 2025 decline has picked up the pace in recent weeks, with shares of the carmaker dropping below the level Trump's team said would be the cheapest the stock would ever be.
Tesla shares dropped as much as 6% on Monday to trade around $223. That put the stock below $235 a share, a key level that Howard Lutnick once said was the lowest Tesla stock would ever go.
The US Commerce Secretary went on television last month to promote Tesla as the stock's sell-off accelerated, with Lutnick saying in an interview that it was "unbelievable" how cheap the stock was, and that shares would "never be this cheap again."
Tesla shares got a brief boost following Lutnick's plug, but Trump's latest "Liberation Day" tariffs have effectively erased those gains, fueling a broader sell-off in global markets.
Tesla has dropped 20% since Trump initiated a global trade war last week. Shares of the carmaker are now down 52% from their all-time high in December.
The challenges have been long-running for Tesla, with the stock under pressure for months as investors have balked at declining sales, weak earnings, and Elon Musk spending more time in the White House.
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Forecasters on Wall Street are also lowering their expectations.
Wedbush analyst and tech bull Dan Ives, who has remained optimistic on Tesla even as its decline accelerated in March, slashed his price target for the stock 43% to $315 a share this week, citing the challenging outlook for the company in China and brand damage stemming from Elon MUsk's politics.
"We have been one of the biggest supporters of Musk and Tesla over the last decade....but this situation is not sustainable and the brand of Tesla is suffering by the day as a political symbol," Ives wrote in a note on Monday. "Musk has been with his back against the wall many times and every time Tesla came out of it and was stronger on the other side...this may be one of his biggest challenges yet to turn around."