Was Tesla's Powerwall Battery Factored Into The Stock Price?

Why is Tesla Motors Inc TSLA down less than 1 percent the day after the company unveiled its long-awaited Powerwall battery? Did investors factor in the unconfirmed battery well before its official unveiling?

"People piled in on speculation ahead of the announcement," Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth told Benzinga. "It's going to take some time before this all works and you can get the batteries. So then people just pile out. These aren't investors, these are mouse clickers at the event."

Those mouse-clickers might have been why the stock rose more than 18 percent over the last 30 days.

"I don't understand why [Tesla] had [the event] at 11 o'clock New York time, but what can you do?" Feinseth added.

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Delayed On Purpose?

The Powerwall event did not start until roughly 12:20 a.m. – more than an hour after it was originally scheduled to begin. When asked if that was part of Tesla's strategy to build anticipation, Feinseth replied, "Maybe. It could be."

He continued, "Overall I think it's a good idea," referring to Powerwall. "I think it's a good product. I think there is a big opportunity, so it will take a while. You're not going to be able to buy these batteries for a while."

Limited Lifespan

Anyone with a laptop, tablet or smartphone knows that rechargeable batteries don't last forever. They all wear out eventually, regardless of the type.

"That's why you want the whole service package," said Feinseth. "That's why you want to lease it with the service package. But not all of it [needs to be replaced], I'll bet you they can [swap] out some of the cells."

Feinseth said that a lease program and service contract combo represents a "big opportunity for the company."

"You can sell 'em or lease 'em," he said. "I think leasing would be better. Usually a lease, in this case, would include a service contract so that if something broke, they would come to your house or business and fix it. The homeowner should definitely do the lease. That way if the cells go bad, they can do the cell replacement. 'Cause yes, the batteries die over time, no question."