Tesla CEO Elon Musk told employees to stay optimistic amid a series of blows to his company’s reputation, where shares plummeted.
Since Musk played a prominent role in the Trump administration in January, Tesla stocks have been a hit as protests against the electric car brand have erupted nationwide.
Tesla shares rose 5% on Friday to close at $248.71, but fell 34% this year.
Tesla’s vehicles, dealers and charging stations have become targets of vandalism as Musk and his government efficiency, or disgust grows for Doge. On the support show, President Trump bought a Tesla on the White House lawn earlier this month.
Trump’s official Tesla purchases boosted the stock price a bit, but fell 26% last month.
While juggling the initiative at the White House, Musk continues to express his ambitious goals for his electric vehicles.
At an All-Hands meeting aired Thursday night on X, on Musk’s social media network, formerly known as Twitter, the CEO promoted Tesla’s performance and urged employees to “stick to stock.”
“There are times when there are rocky moments… there’s a bit of a stormy weather,” Musk said at the meeting. The meeting included multiple in-person viewers dressed in Tesla branded T-shirts.
“I’m here to tell you that the future is very bright and exciting,” he said. “We’re going to do something no one dreams of.”
He has long been committed to providing a fully autonomous driving technology and a fleet of unmanned Robotaxis, but Tesla’s current technology, known as fully autonomous driving, cannot function without the human of alerts behind the wheels.
The company has taken early steps towards launching the Robotaxi service in California, but experts say the technology is not ready.
Musk also cited plans to produce a cybercab and his humanoid robot in Austin, Texas on Thursday, called Optimus.
He praised Model Y’s bestseller status at the meeting and promoted his electric pick, CyberTruck, to remember almost every cyberTruck of regulatory actions earlier this week. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall covers more than 46,000 vehicles and warns that external panels can peel off while driving, increasing the risk of crashes.
When Tesla’s reputation stumbles, many owners are moving to sell their cars and criticize musks for sticking important bumper stickers on their vehicles. According to ISEeCars.com analyst Karl Brauer, the combination of increased supply and reduced demand has reduced the resale value of some Tesla models.
In February, Tesla was top of the list of brands that lost the most resale value year-over-year, according to data provided by Brauer. Prices for the used Tesla Model S and Model Y respectively fell about 16% from the previous year, while the price of the Used Model 3 fell 13.5% over the same period.
“The problem is that the mask is gaining more people than he’s losing,” Brauer asked.
The stock price rise on Friday could reflect new confidence after the All-Hand meeting, during which Musk listed other Tesla achievements, including producing more than 7 million vehicles worldwide.
Going forward, Musk will need to carefully balance his controversial role in the federal government with his leadership role at Tesla, said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, who has a purchase rating for Tesla stock.
“His actions and behavior definitely alienated the consumer group and caused dissatisfaction,” Ives said. “When you sell mass market vehicles and employ political affiliations like this, it has its drawbacks.”
Tesla representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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