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).
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