Tesla shares slide 7% after Elon Musk fails to meet hopes for a budget EV model at underwhelming investor day

• Tesla shares slid 7% early on Thursday after the EV maker fell short on details at its investor day.
• CEO Elon Musk was tight-lipped on details about new models after hopes built for a $25,000 car.

Tesla shares fell 7% Thursday, after the automaker's much-anticipated investor day failed to live up to hopes for details of its next generation of cars and a rumored sub-$30,000 model.

A "Master Plan 3" presentation by CEO Elon Musk and key engineers at the four-hour event Wednesday hinted at two new models but lacked concrete detail on products or how it plans to stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market.

"It's no surprise that Tesla stock fell over 5% in the hours following Tesla's Investor Day, as it fell short for investors regarding details on any new Tesla products or services," Greg Bassuk, the CEO of asset management firm AXS Investments, wrote in a Wednesday note seen by Insider.

Shares were down 7% at $188.56 at last check in early trading Thursday.

Before the event, anticipation built at to what Musk might announce about Tesla's strategy. Plans for robotaxis and a budget-friendly Tesla were some items investors hoped to see on the agenda.

However, the Tesla CEO remained tight-lipped about the prospects for a $25,000 model, which would be one of the cheapest EVs on the market.

He also declined to elaborate on the need to double the number of models offered by Tesla to 10 by 2030. Its fifth, the Cybertruck pickup, is expected later this year.

But there was a hint in a presentation slide on Tesla's fleet of vehicles that showed two cloaked models, Yahoo Finance and others reported. One appeared to be an SUV model, while the other could be a third-generation EV.

Before the investor day, Reuters reported Tesla is planning a revamp of its Model Y, code-named Project Juniper, which would begin production in 2024.

During the presentation, Tesla laid out broad plans aimed at making it the world's largest car company. It gave more background to its goal of selling 20 million cars a year by 2030, compared with the 1.3 million delivered last year.

That would involve cutting production costs by 50%, Tesla's chief financial officer, Zach Kirkhorn, said.

The company detailed an overhauled manufacturing process and confirmed its expansion into Mexico at the event.

Activist investor Ross Gerber, who recently dropped his bid for a seat on Tesla's board, suggested in a tweet that the reveal was a huge tease that Tesla would be able to deliver a sub-$30,000 model in the future.

"Huge tease on the nex Gen tesla. It's coming. They laid it all out. 50% less cost to build. Would get you a $25-$30k EV!" he tweeted.

The projected cost of that goal, though, may also have made investors wince, with Kirkhorn saying production plans would require $175 billion of investment, a six-fold increase on Tesla's outlay so far.