GLJ Research CEO Gordon Johnson, a long-time Tesla Inc TSLA bear, predicted a sales slump for the electric vehicle giant. His pessimistic outlook was met with sarcasm from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
What Happened: In an X post on Sunday, Johnson asserted that Tesla’s sales are “imploding” across its three largest markets, and its profit margins lag behind competitors like Toyota, Stellantis, BMW, and Mercedes.
“FSD is a failure, it buys batteries from BYD, LG, CATL, & Panasonic (meaning it's NOT a battery company),” he added.
Johnson also predicted a 7% drop in Tesla’s sales for the third quarter compared to the second quarter.
Musk Reacts: The Tesla CEO took to X, formerly Twitter, to note Johnson’s straight track record. "There is value in someone being a reliable contra-indicator," Musk wrote. Contra-indicators are professionals who offer investment opinions that sharply contrast with the broader consensus.
The Tesla CEO’s response came after Matthew Donegan-Ryan shared edited snippets from Johnson’s 2020 CNBC interview, in which the analyst predicted Tesla would return to losses due to a supposed lack of demand and increasing competition from legacy automakers like General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and Volkswagen AG.
Why It Matters: Contrary to Johnson’s predictions, Tesla has consistently reported profits since 2020.
In 2021 the company recorded a net profit of $5.5 billion, which more than doubled to $12.6 billion in 2022.
The X user, a Tesla enthusiast, pointed out that Johnson has been “virtually 100% wrong in his historical Tesla predictions.”
Tesla continues to target 1.8 million deliveries for this year. Musk previously stated that third-quarter production would be lower due to planned factory upgrades, as mentioned in the company’s second-quarter earnings call held in July.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
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