'No One Went Broke By Taking Profits': Gary Black On Trimming Tesla Position In November

The Future Fund Managing Partner Gary Black on Thursday hit back at Tesla Inc. TSLA bulls who criticized him for trimming the company’s holdings in mid-November.

What Happened: “No one ever went broke by taking profits,” Black said. The fund manager trimmed his holdings after the stock rose in the aftermath of Trump’s landslide victory as investors hoped for a favorable regulatory environment for autonomous vehicles owing to CEO Elon Musk‘s close ties with the newly elected President. However, the stock has pared its gains since.

“Tesla uberbulls gave us a ton of grief for trimming TSLA at $351 in mid-Nov after TSLA had increased 150% since April. One has to like TSLA less at $350 than $150, ceteris paribus,” Black said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Now that TSLA has given up 90% of its post-election bounce, bulls who trashed us for trimming have gone largely silent.”

Tesla shares closed down 5.6% at $263.45 on Thursday. The stock is down 30.5% year-to-date but up by 47% over the past year, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Why It Matters: On Dec. 17, Tesla closed at an all-time high of $479.86, before pulling back owing to a year-on-year drop in vehicle deliveries in 2024 and other market pressures.

Some bulls like Dan Ives, however, continue to be optimistic. On Thursday, the Wedbush Securities analyst added Tesla to the firm's Best Ideas List, reiterating an "Outperform" rating and $550 price target despite growing challenges facing the electric vehicle maker.

"This is a gut check moment for Tesla bulls after this massive sell-off," Ives posted on X, calling the current situation a critical juncture where negative sentiment has overshadowed Tesla's potential as "a unique disruptive global tech story."

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read Next:

• Elon Musk Thinks ISS Has Served Its Purpose And Should Be Deorbited, But Sunita Williams Says It Is Still At Its Prime: ‘This Place Is Ticking. It's Just Really Amazing'

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock