Tesla could lose more than 80 percent of its value or disappear altogether, a NYU professor of business said a few days after Tesla reported record deliveries for the third quarter, but short of an unofficial target to deliver 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs).
According to a blog post by Scott Galloway, a Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business where he teaches Brand Strategy and Digital Marketing, Tesla is among several companies that could lose 80 percent or more of their value or disappear. Tesla is in the company of WeWork, Robinhood, Lyft, and OYO on Galloway’s list.
Tesla has changed the world for the better, Galloway says, but adds that “Tesla doesn’t have the scale to compete in a well-run, low-margin business — auto.”
The new post from Galloway, who had correctly predicted that Amazon would acquire Whole Foods, comes just a few days after Tesla reported last week its delivery numbers for the third quarter.
Tesla achieved a record number of around 97,000 deliveries in Q3, the EV maker said last Wednesday. The figure, while a record, came short of an unofficial target that Elon Musk had set to deliver 100,000 electric cars in the third quarter. With just a day left until Q3 ends, Tesla was said to be “a few thousand” vehicles behind that 100,000 vehicle delivery target.
According to an earlier email that Musk reportedly sent to employees, Tesla had a shot at achieving its first 100,000 vehicle delivery quarter. Musk told employees in the email that the net orders for the quarter were “tracking to reach about 110,000.”
In the production and deliveries update last week, Tesla said that “we achieved record net orders in Q3 and are entering Q4 with an increase in our order backlog.”
NYU’s Galloway also predicted in May this year that Tesla could be acquired within 12 months as its shares would drop to below $100.
Most recently, Germany’s Volkswagen denied reports that its chief executive was interested in buying a stake in Tesla in order to have access to the EV maker’s battery and software technologies, while Tesla’s stock traded at around $231 per share on Monday.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com