TSLA: Tesla Stock Slumps 15% from Record but Logs Standout Year on Musk/Trump Bromance

Shares of the EV maker were quick to hit a record after Musk and Trump joined forces and now Musk won’t leave Trump’s side for better or worse.

• Tesla stock TSLA just wrapped up a spectacular year. The EV maker did it with no fanfare or celebration as it fell for the fourth straight day, wiping out a total of 17% from the stock’s all-time high on December 18. The company still picked up a 17% December gain and a 63% year-to-date increase. Quick fact: Tesla is up 61% since Election Day, November 5 and it has nothing to do with fundamentals.
• It has everything to do with Elon Musk’s deepening relationship with President-elect Donald Trump. So much so that reports are saying the Tesla CEO is now renting a $2,000-a-night cottage at the Mar-a-Lago residence. The house is several hundred feet (about 100 meters) from where Trump lives, highlighting Musk’s influence over Trump. He’s also sat in on personal meetings and even tanked a bipartisan spending bill in Congress.
• Back to Tesla and its performance, the company will release its fourth-quarter deliveries number on Thursday. For the third quarter, Tesla shipped 462,890 new vehicles, up 6% from the year-ago quarter. For the past three months, analysts expect around 510,000 electric cars delivered. Tesla’s own target is 515,000 units. Both of these, if met, will be a record delivery number, surpassing the current record of 484,507 cars in the fourth quarter of 2023.