Tesla Investor Who Significantly Reduced Stake Ready To Buy Back In? Here's What EV Maker Should Do To Win His Confidence

Tesla, Inc. TSLA shares fell by over 8% during the week ending July 26, halting an upward trend that had been building since the company’s quarterly deliveries report was released earlier in July. A fund manager, who has trimmed his Tesla stake substantially, delved into what would prompt him to increase his position in a post on Sunday.

What Happened: The Future Fund LLC, run by Gary Black, has trimmed its Tesla position from over 5% in early March to 3.55% currently. Tesla has become the fifth largest holding in the firm’s flagship Future Fund Active ETF FFND, with $307,280 worth of the electric vehicle maker’s stock.

One of Black’s followers commented on X, formerly Twitter, that the 3.6% stake is “a bit low” and asked him what will cause the firm to increase its holdings.

The fund manager outlined the following as pulling points:

• A path to stabilizing and ultimately increasing auto gross margins
• Evidence that confirms that Tesla’s volume growth can return to 25%+ as the company launches sub-$30K EVs to expand its total addressable market
• Data showing that full self-driving technology can improve from its current 95%-96% efficacy to 99.99% would support an increase in Tesla’s price target to $270.

See Also: How To Buy Tesla Stock

Why It’s Important: After a mixed quarterly report and not-so-positive earnings call, the stock could once again be locked in a range-bound phase closer to the $200 mark but for meaningful external catalysts that could drive it higher. The Oct. 10 robotaxi unveil event and the announcements at the event could be stock-moving. The stock may gather some momentum in the run-up to the event, depending on the news flow.

Detractors, however, question the valuation after the second-quarter earnings report showed that much of the operating profit came from regulatory credits, which are one-time in nature. The guidance for a significant decline in volume in 2024 also did not go down well with investors and analysts.

A potential change of guard in the White House is another looming risk, given Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump’s anti-EV stance.

Tesla ended Friday’s session down 0.20% at $219.80, according to Benzinga Pro data, and the stock is down 11.54% so far this year.

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