Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) stock is starting to resemble Netflix before its massive rally in 2011
The past few months have challenging for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) investors, but if recent signs are any indication, it appears that the electric car maker might show some recovery in the stock market soon. According to an advisory firm founder, Tesla stock has all but reached a point that is incredibly similar to that of Netflix back in 2011, right before it experienced an eight-year stretch of growth that propelled the company to its current place at the top of the on-demand streaming market.
Tesla currently trades at or near the $180 level, which corresponds to roughly half of the company’s peak of $385 last year. While this might feel alarming, it should be noted that Netflix’s investors experienced something far more harrowing back in 2011, when the company’s shares saw a full 80% stock decline. After a price increase and CEO Reed Hastings’ announcement that Netflix will be separating its streaming and DVD-by-mail business, the company saw a loss of 800,000 subscribers in a single quarter. That was a time when the company only had 24 million subscribers as well.
At the core of Netflix’s decision then was its sincere belief that online streaming services are the future of on-demand entertainment. They also believed in their pricing power. Eddie Yoon, a think tank and advisory firm founder, noted that Netflix’s high-stakes bets paid off. Since that 80% decline back in 2011, the company has increased its user base to 60 million in the US and 150 million worldwide. Netflix stock had also increased 39 times than its low point back in 2011.
Tesla is in a similar boat. Just like Netflix in 2011, the electric car maker is dealing with the fallout of a quarter that rendered lower-than-expected numbers, which, together with several factors, has caused the company to post a loss after two profitable quarters. Nevertheless, Tesla is making a big bet on its belief that the demand for electric vehicles will grow exponentially over the next few years. So far, the company seems to be right on the money in this sense, as EV sales across the globe are increasing. In 2018 alone, electric car sales accounted for 2% of total new vehicles sold in the US. A study by AAA also noted that 20% of Americans want to own an electric car.
Yoon notes that if there is anything that Tesla could learn from Netflix, it would be to improve its communication. During Netflix’s steep drop in 2011, the company performed subpar when it came to communicating with its user base. This was true during times when Netflix would change its pricing, or if it would change aspects of its business. Tesla is quite around the same boat. Its pricing power is strong, and contrary to Bernstein’s recent note, Tesla’s brand holds a lot of value for an increasing number of customers. Despite this, the electric car maker still has notable areas of improvement when it comes to communication, partly evidenced by the misinformation surrounding the company today. If Tesla can refine this, then the company’s potential recovery would likely be smoother than expected.
The recent comparisons of Tesla to Netflix in 2011 appear to have been triggered by rumors that an investor who took a particular interest in the streaming giant at its lowest point. These rumors were recently related by Will Meade, a former PM at Goldman Sachs and a former editor at Forbes. “Rumor swirling that a big activist has taken a stake in Tesla $TSLA and he/she said it reminds them of $NFLX in 2011. Explains the almost $3 million of $TSLA Aug $250 calls swept right at the open. Could it be Icahn!” he wrote, referring to billionaire investor Carl Celian Icahn.
As of writing, Tesla stock is trading at 5.20% at $188.42 per share.
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.
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