- Tesla's stock was down on Monday morning following a string of negative news stories.
- The company is expected to fall short of first-quarter vehicle deliveries and earnings projections, Moody's has downgraded its debt, and the company is involved in a National
Transportation Safety Board investigation over a crash involving its Autopilot driving system. - Still, CEO Elon Musk made light of the news in a series of tweets, claiming Tesla was going "bankrupt" and he was drinking too much tequila.
- Watch Tesla's stock price move in real time here.
Shares of Tesla were down 3.62% on Monday morning following a series of April Fools' jokes tweeted by CEO Elon Musk that made light of Tesla's recent woes, joking about Tesla going bankrupt and commenting that he was drinking too much tequila.
However, the company has serious problems ahead as the electric carmaker struggles to contain a wave of negative news including analyst forecast cuts for its first-quarter vehicle deliveries and earnings, a Moody's downgrade of its debt, and a car crash involving the company's semi-autonomous driving system, Autopilot.
The company is expected to report deliveries of its mass-market Model 3 coming in well below its previous projections, as well as a financial loss as the company struggles to address its production bottlenecks and deliver its Model 3 to customers.
Moreover, Moody's downgrade of Tesla's debt only serves to dampen investors mood around the company. Most carmakers rely on a good credit rating because production and operating costs are capital intensive.
Meanwhile, the company is facing yet another National Transportation Safety Board investigation into a deadly crash involving its semi-self driving system, AutoPilot. The fatal crash in California last week follows a deadly 2016 Autopilot crash in Florida that is still under investigation.
Still, Tesla shareholders showed confidence in the company's leader, approving a new performance-based compensation package for Musk, which is contingent upon Tesla reaching a $650 billion market cap.
Tesla's stock was trading at $257 per share.