Tesla shares fell early Thursday after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick used a TV appearance to urge Americans to buy stock in Elon Musk’s car company.
Why it matters: Cabinet secretaries don’t typically recommend individual stocks, much less those linked to the president’s closest adviser.
- His recommendation was potentially overshadowed, though, by one of Tesla’s most fervent defenders on Wall Street calling the company’s situation a “crisis.”
What they’re saying: “I think, if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla,” Lutnick said on Fox News Wednesday evening. “It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again.”
- “I mean, who wouldn’t invest in Elon Musk? You gotta be kidding me.”
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By the numbers: Tesla shares were down about 1.7% in premarket trading Thursday to $231.75.
- The stock is down 5% in the last five days, 35% in the last month and 42% so far this year.
- “We struggle to think of anything analogous in the history of the automotive industry, in which a brand has lost so much value so quickly,” JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman said in a research note last week.
Between the lines: Lutnick’s comments are part of what has effectively become a Trump administration campaign to defend Tesla.
