Investor's Corner
Tesla bulls take a stand against negative TSLA narratives in Q3’s aftermath
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) bulls are taking a stand as pervading negative narratives sweep TSLA following the release of the electric car maker’s third-quarter results. Tesla hit new records in Q3, producing 96,155 vehicles and delivering around 97,000. These record numbers, which were 3,000 off a target quoted in a leaked Elon Musk email, resulted in a steep drop in TSLA and an unforgiving interpretation from the company’s ardent critics.
As the electric car maker deals with the aftermath of its record-breaking third-quarter results, a number of TSLA bulls have taken a stand with their optimistic take on the company’s Q3 figures. While these analysts admitted that Tesla was not able to meet Elon Musk’s internal 100,000 delivery goal for the third quarter, some were firm in the notion that Tesla’s 16.2% year-over-year improvement in deliveries was nothing to scoff at either.
Longtime TSLA bull and Baird analyst Ben Kallo reiterated his “Outperform” rating and $355 price target on the electric car maker following the company’s release of its Q3 2019 results. Macquarie analyst Maynard Um, another notable TSLA bull, kept his “Outperform” rating and optimistic $400 price target for Tesla as well. Commenting on Tesla’s production and delivery results, Um was direct, stating that “we are not concerned about demand.”
Canaccord Genuity also maintained its “Buy” rating on Tesla, together with its $350 price target. According to the financial firm, Tesla reported “essentially inline Q3 deliveries with record net new orders.” Canaccord added that it is “encouraged that production woes appear to have abated” for the electric car maker, as shown in Tesla’s record numbers.
Even Wedbush Securities, whose TSLA analyst Dan Ives has expressed frustration at the electric car maker in previous quarters, maintained its “Neutral” rating and $220 price target on the company. Wedbush noted that “In our opinion, this was an impressive delivery number for Tesla overall that should be viewed as a positive step in the right direction.”
Loup Ventures managing partner Gene Munster, also a longtime TSLA bull, pointed to a particularly interesting detail in the company’s Q3 report. In a blog post on Loup Ventures’ official website, Munster stated that in the third quarter, Tesla appears to have established the fact that its vehicles have a stable, organic demand among consumers.
“The optics of the announcement may have been diluted, but the substance was impressive. Tesla built and sold a record number of vehicles in Q3. Deliveries were up 16% y/y on a tough comp from Q3 of 2018 when deliveries more than doubled sequentially to 83k. In the update letter, the company said that they achieved record net orders and that nearly all of those orders came from people without previous reservations. In other words, all signs point to the fact that organic demand, which is the crux of the bull/bear debate, is intact,” he wrote.
Objectively speaking, Q3 2019 was a successful quarter for Tesla, and despite the pervading negative narrative surrounding the company, the fact remains that the electric car maker just reached record numbers once more, and it is not showing any signs of slowing down. With Gigafactory 3’s Model 3 production seemingly just around the corner, it is likely far too early or simply unwise to dismiss Tesla’s chances of meeting its self-imposed delivery goals for 2019.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship Flight 13 aborted at Zero and Musk just told us what broke
Four Raptor engines failed to ignite at T-zero, forcing SpaceX to scrub Starship Flight 13 Thursday.
SpaceX scrubbed the Starship Flight 13 launch attempt Thursday evening at the last possible moment, after four of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to ignite during the startup sequence. The 90-minute window had opened at 6:45 p.m. EDT from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, and the countdown had proceeded without issue all day, with more than 11.5 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen being fully loaded into the rocket before the automated abort triggered. SpaceX’s launch directors posted on X, “Standing down from today’s flight test attempt,” and shut down the livestream shortly after.
Musk confirmed the root cause within hours. “Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort,” he wrote on X. “To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed and replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week.” SpaceX engineers began draining propellant tanks immediately and Booster 20 was rolled back to its hangar for inspection.
The timing adds a layer of significance that did not exist during any of the previous 12 Starship flights. This is the first time SpaceX has attempted to launch Starship since the company made its stock market debut in June, listing under ticker SPCX at $135 per share. Public investors are now watching every Starship outcome in real time, and a last-second abort carries more visibility than it would have six months ago.
Flight 13 was designed to be one of the most consequential tests in the program’s history. It was set to carry 20 Starlink V3 satellites, the first operational payload Starship has ever attempted to deploy. Six of those satellites carried external cameras to photograph Starship’s heat shield from the outside during flight, which would act as a self-inspection approach SpaceX has never attempted before. The mission also needed to complete a Raptor engine relight in space, a step SpaceX skipped on Flight 12 in May after losing an engine during ascent. That Flight 12 booster also flipped 90 degrees off course during its boostback burn when five engines failed to reignite.
SpaceX has not announced an official next launch date. Musk’s “early next week” window points to July 21 or 22 at the earliest, pending the engine swap and a return to the pad.
Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli responded to rumors of an imminent bankruptcy that was reportedly being mulled after a report stated the automaker was working with the firm AlixPartners to iron out its next steps.
The company felt a massive loss on Wall Street yesterday, as the report essentially pushed the stock down as much as 55 percent on Tuesday.
The report, published initially by Eletric-Vehicles.com, claimed Lucid was essentially in dire straits and was told by AlixPartners, a commonly used restructuring advisor, to either take shares private or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Lucid’s head of Communications, Nick Twork, immediately challenged the report and stated the company “has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year.”
Now, the company’s CEO is chiming in as well, stating that the report is “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Napoli said:
“Lucid is not considering bankruptcy or a transaction to take the company private. Those reports are false. The Board did not explore either scenario. Period.
As disclosed in our most recent quarterly filing, Lucid has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations well into next year.
We work with outside advisors to improve operational performance and execution. They are not advising Lucid on a take-private transaction or bankruptcy, and any suggestion that they have recommended either course of action to management or the Board is false.
My priority is clear: turn this company around. That is where the leadership team and I are focused.
I look forward to providing a full update during our quarterly earnings call on August 4th.”
🚨 Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli calls rumors of financial issues “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Read his full remarks here: https://t.co/t3Pg1NHvzy pic.twitter.com/LvHUPhO4Qf
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 15, 2026
It seems pretty clear that Lucid is confident things will be okay, and, to be honest, they should not have much to worry about, especially considering the company has been backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for years. It has solid financial backing, and its sales, while weak, are pretty much right on par with a company of this age.
Lucid also sent a Cease & Desist letter to the publication for their report.
Lucid shares have rebounded nicely and are up nearly 21 percent at the time of publication. As soon as the company dispelled the rumors of bankruptcy yesterday, the stock began to climb back toward more reasonable levels.
Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.
Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”
Twork said:
$LCID The rumors are completely false. The company has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year, as recently published in its last quarterly filings, and it has not formed any special Board committee to explore the scenarios reported today. Our focus is…
— Nick Twork (@ntwork) July 14, 2026
Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.
Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.
Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.
Tesla enters two new markets on two different continents in one week
SpaceX announces new Starship 13 test flight target date
