Elon Musk has emailed staff at Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and told them to ignore “stock market craziness” as shares in the electric vehicle maker slumped to a new two-year low.
"Please go all out for the next few days and volunteer to help deliver if at all possible. It will make a real difference!" the chief executive said in the email.
"Btw, don't be too bothered by stock market craziness. As we demonstrate continued excellent performance, the market will recognise that," he added. "Long-term, I believe very much that Tesla will be the most valuable company on Earth!"
Tesla saw another US$700bn wiped off its value Tuesday on worries over production in China and the perceived absence of Musk while he concentrates on Twitter Inc, the social media platform he acquired for $44bn in October.
Shares in the EV group have lost 70% of their value over the past year and look on course to be one of the top five worst performers in the S&P 500 index, though the stock managed a 3% rally on Wednesday and is set to notch up a similar rise on Thursday according to pre-market trading.
Tesla made a profit of US$3.3bn (£2.74bn) for the third quarter of 2022 but a slowing down of production in China has unsettled even its staunch supporters, such as US broker Wedbush.
Tesla is expected to miss reduced Wall Street estimates for the fourth quarter and needs to lower its sights for 2023, based on higher inventory levels, recent price cuts, and overall production slowdowns in China, according to Wedbush analyst, Dan Ives.
"With China the core linchpin to the Tesla bull thesis, worries are growing around what the softening demand picture looks like for 2023 given the dark macro clouds and increasing domestic EV competition," he said in a recent note to clients (read more).
-- Updated with pre-market stock move --