During the U.S. stock market on Friday (January 12), Tesla's stock price fell 3.7% to a low of $217.35 per share, the lowest level since November 13, 2023. And since 2024, Tesla has only recorded a rise in one trading day, and has fallen by more than 11% since the beginning of the year.
Analysts believe that Tesla's stock is suffering from multiple negative factors, including the pressure of supply chain delays caused by the Red Sea crisis, as well as the company's rising labor costs in the United States and weakening demand from car rental companies. These factors have exacerbated Tesla's difficulties.
According to media reports, Tesla revealed on Thursday local time that it will suspend the production of most cars at its Gigafactory southeast of Berlin from January 29 to February 11. The reason given by the company is that the Red Sea crisis caused many ships to divert to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and the lengthening of transportation routes eventually led to a shortage of spare parts.
Analysts at investment bank Baird estimate Tesla can produce 5,000 to 7,000 electric vehicles per week at its German car assembly plant, according to a report released Thursday by the investment bank. Affected by supply chain delays, first-quarter deliveries may be reduced by 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles.
Since the middle of last month, the Houthi armed forces in Yemen have expanded the scope of their attacks on Israeli targets and begun to attack "Israeli-related ships" in the Red Sea. They have continued to escalate related threats, resulting in multiple cargo ships being attacked in nearby waters, and many shipping companies announcing that they would reroute to the Cape of Good Hope.
Data shows that the voyage distance of freighters sailing from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Singapore will increase by 40% (about 3,800 nautical miles). Tesla wrote in a statement that "military conflict in the Red Sea and the diversion of shipping routes between Europe and Asia through the Cape of Good Hope have had an impact on production at the Glenhead plant."
Earlier in the day, the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other places were attacked by US and British air strikes. The Houthi armed forces in Yemen have recently announced that air strikes in many places in Yemen are illegal and unreasonable attacks and a real threat to international peace and security. All "interests" of the United States and Britain are now "legitimate targets." This may mark a further escalation of the situation.
In addition, analysts are also paying attention to Tesla's continued price cuts. Tesla China's official website on Friday showed that the price of the updated version of Model 3 dropped to RMB 245,900, the price of the updated version of Model 3 Long Range dropped to RMB 285,900, and the price of Model Y dropped to RMB 258,900.
In this regard, analysts at Morgan Stanley believe that the price reduction is "more moderate than market expectations." But Tesla's long-term price cuts in North America have made the vehicles less attractive to U.S. car rental companies. Yesterday, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said that the company will sell 20,000 electric vehicles and purchase fuel vehicles.
It is understood that Hertz is the largest car rental company in the United States. It has announced the purchase of 100,000 Tesla cars, which is the largest order in Tesla's history. This also means that most of Hertz's original cars are Tesla. Scheer has previously said Tesla has driven down the overall retail price of electric vehicles, causing the company's asset value to depreciate.
According to the latest news, in a flyer at Tesla's base camp in Fremont, California, the company promised to provide salary increases to material handlers, production assistants and quality inspectors, and said it would conduct a "market-adjusted salary increase" to welcome the New Year, but did not disclose the specific amount.
A worker at the Fremont factory confirmed the news, saying that salary information for 2024 has been published on some websites, and Tesla has indeed implemented a salary increase recently. This move was also widely interpreted as Tesla's overture to workers to prevent workers from joining the UAW and launching a new union movement due to the signing of a collective bargaining agreement.
At the same time, Tesla still faces tremendous union pressure in Europe. The strike movement that began with Tesla mechanics in Sweden has evolved into a joint movement involving at least 15 labor unions. Nordic countries, workers from various industries, and investment institutions such as large pension funds have called on Tesla to start collective bargaining with labor unions.