Tesla was the worst performing stock in the Cheddar 50 Wednesday, falling more than 7 percent to its lowest level in more than a year.
Shares of the electric automaker were plagued by a downgrade by Moody’s, a crash investigation, and a backlogged production line.
“All those things combined with a skittish technology market...is really weighing on the shares,” explained Efraim Levy, and analyst at CFRA.
On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board announced it is opening an investigation into a fatal car crash involving a Tesla in California last week.
The company hasn’t been able to provide many details about what happened and is still “unclear if automated control system was active at time of crash.” This would be Tesla’s second NTSB investigation in as many years.
Also on Tuesday, Moody’s downgraded Tesla’s credit rating because of a “significant shortfall in the production rate of the company’s Model 3 electric vehicle,” the agency said in a release. This delay may then force the company to seek out extra funding.
However, some experts and investors remain bullish on the carmaker’s long term outlook.
CFRA maintains its hold position on the shares.
“Ultimately, the direction that we’re going is more electrification,” said Levy.
“I would never bet against Elon Musk’s ability to raise capital,” said Frederic Lambert, Editor-in-chief of Electrek. “Historically, he’s been very consistent on that front.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/cfras-efraim-levy-explains-why-he-maintains-hold-opinion-on-tesla).
Cathy Hackl, CEO of Futures Intelligence Group, joins Cheddar to talk about the future of the metaverse, and how companies are making moves to become a part of it.
Six states have confirmed cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, and this number is expected to grow. Cheddar's Hena Doba speaks with Dr. William Schaffner,
Professor of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, on the latest developments.
Earnings season continues in the week of December 6 - 10, and that's only the start of a slate of events on the calendar that may move markets. We will also see executives from the crypto world and Instagram Head Adam Mosseri testify before members of Congress, and Square's name change to Block officially goes into effect.
Joe Gagliese, Co-Founder and CEO of Viral Nation, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses how influencer marketing is coming to cryptocurrencies and NFTs and outlines what we could expect to see on that front in 2022.
Many restaurants across the country have lately turned off delivery and online orders during peak hours, as eateries are still struggling with labor shortages and as many are also seeing more customers return for in-person dining. Wall Street Journal reporter Heather Haddon joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Hologram communication platform maker PORTL is looking to take communication to the next level. Founder and CEO David Nussbaum joined Cheddar to talk about the company's recent $12 million Series A funding round that will be used to bring the concept of holoportation to market. Nussbaum noted his hologram technology is just not comparable to augmented reality or virtual metaverses because the image projection is happening in real-time and in actual reality. "Well, unlike VR or AR, we're 'R.' We're real. You don't need a headset. You don't need wearables. You don't need to download anything. It's incredible," he said.
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales stopped by Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about his Birth of Wikipedia auction at Christie's putting two items linked to the origins of Wikipedia up for sale. On the auction block are his original strawberry iMac that was used to create the long-running online encyclopedia and what Wales described as an interactive NFT of his first Wikipedia edit rather than a static image. "Once it's been sold, the owner can turn it on, and anyone can edit the page and it will be reflected in the NFT," he said.
Local Bounti rang the opening bell December 3 in honor of its recent trading debut on the NYSE after closing a $1.1 billion SPAC deal. The company operates an indoor growing facility in Montana and aims to transform the production and delivery of local, fresh and sustainably-grown leafy greens. Craig Hurlbert, co-founder and co-CEO of Local Bounti, joined Cheddar to discuss the company's goals as a newly publicly-traded company.
