Tesla's value sinks by US$10b in a week as rout deepens

[NEW YORK] Tesla Inc just can't seem to catch a break.

If the rout sparked by an SEC investigation into CEO Elon Musk's tweets on taking the carmaker private wasn't enough, a subsequent tweet storm mocking the agency and an unflattering comparison to Lehman Brothers Holdings slewed off even more value. Shares extended losses for a fifth straight session on Monday, falling 4.3 per cent to the lowest in more than 18 months.

The stock rebounded in after-hours trading, recovering about 1 per cent, after Macquarie initiated coverage of Tesla with an outperform rating.

Investors continue to punish Tesla even as its Model 3 is becoming one of the best-selling sedans in America. The company managed to deliver on its third-quarter projections for the electric car, leading JPMorgan to boost its estimates.

The stock closed at its lowest level since March 2017 on Monday, shaving more than US$10 billion off its market capitalisation in one week.

"The auto industry is on the precipice of a multi-decade transformation" driven by disruptive innovation and technology, which Tesla is "uniquely positioned" to lead, Macquarie analyst Maynard Um said in a note.

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