Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday went on Fox News to aggressively promote the flagship company owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
But as Axios reports, Lutnick's pitch to Fox viewers to invest in Tesla seems to have flopped as shares in the company sank again ahead of the opening bell on Thursday morning.
"Tesla shares were down about 1.7% in premarket trading Thursday to $231.75," the publication reports. "The stock is down 5% in the last five days, 35% in the last month and 42% so far this year."
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Axios adds that Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives, who has long been one of the most bullish analysts on Tesla's prospects, undercut Lutnick's cheerleading for the company by acknowledging in a new note that declared that Tesla is now in "crisis."
"Lets call it like it is: Tesla is going through a crisis and there is one person who can fix it... Musk," he wrote. "As someone who is a core bull and believer in the Telsa long term growth story... I loudly urge Musk and the Board to step up, stop being silent, and help resolve this crisis forming at Tesla."
Tesla has faced plummeting sales throughout the world thanks to general revulsion at Musk's brand of far-right politics, and Tesla dealerships have become targets of regular protests all throughout the United States.