By
Svetlana Soroka
April 18th, 2024
Following the low rating of Tesla vehicles, TSLA stock fell. On June 24, it closed at $960.85 and dropped to $954.27 at the opening today.
American-based data analytics and consumer intelligence company JD Power has released the results of its 2020 Initial Quality Study that measures vehicle quality in the first 90 days of ownership. Unexpectedly, the leading U.S. carmaker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has taken the last position in the JD Power survey. Let us see what’s wrong with Tesla cars and what was Tesla stock’s response to the low rating.
At the time of writing, TSLA stock is 0.35% down, trading at $957.50. The market cap is $177.95 billion.
JD Power Survey Findings
34th JD Power’s study examines problems that owners of new 2020 model-year vehicles faced during the first 90 days of ownership. Initial quality is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study included 87,282 purchasers and lessees of new 2020 model-year vehicles. It started in February and ended in March 2020.
This year, Tesla has been included in the JD Power survey for the first time. Among 32 major vehicle brands, Tesla received the worst initial quality score of 250 PP100. In other words, Tesla cars have 250 problems per 100 vehicles. The industry average figure is 166 problems.
Doug Betts, president of the automotive division at JD Power, commented on the survey:
“These are primarily a result of factory quality. Also, in the area of electric vehicle issues, they do have complaints related to range lower than expected; range gauge is inaccurate.”
He further said:
“Unlike other manufacturers, Tesla doesn’t grant us permission to survey its owners in 15 states where it is required. However, we were able to collect a large enough sample of surveys from owners in the other 35 states, and, from that base, we calculated Tesla’s score.”
Land Rover was the second-worst-performing brand with a 228 PP100 score. Dodge and Kia were the top, with just 136 issues per 100 vehicles. Chevrolet and Ram followed with 141 PP100.
Morgan Stanley Says Tesla Stock is Overvalued
Following the low rating of Tesla vehicles, Tesla stock fell. On June 24, it closed at $960.85 and dropped to $954.27 at the opening today.
On June 10, Tesla stock hit a new all-time highest closing price of $1025.05. However, Morgan Stanley believes that $1,000 for Tesla stock is too much.
Morgan Stankey’s analyst Adam Jonas said:
“We understand the attraction of the Tesla story, we think investors may have a chance to revisit the stock at a more attractive price. We believe $1,000/share discounts outcomes that, while plausible, may ignore a host of execution/ market risks.”
Morgan Stanley’s price target for Tesla stock is $650. This implies a more than 30% drop from yesterday’s close.