Tesla (TSLA) shares plunged on Thursday, pushing the EV maker out of the exclusive $1 trillion club amid an intensifying spat between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.
In recent days, Musk had criticized a sprawling tax and spending bill currently before Congress, prompting the president on Thursday to express disappointment in the billionaire, who then fired back with a series of social media posts that sparked further reaction from Trump. Investors fear the escalating tension between the pair could lead Trump to axe funding and subsidies, and to block regulatory approval, for Musk’s businesses, including Tesla.
Tesla shares dropped 14% on Thursday to close at around $285, wiping out a sizable portion of the gains that the stock had posted after Musk said in late April that he planned to step away from his role as head of the government’s Department of Government Efficiency to spend more time at the automaker.
Below, we take a closer look at Tesla’s chart and apply technical analysis to identify major price levels that investors will likely be watching.
Since bottoming out in early April, Tesla shares staged a countertrend rally within a rising wedge. However, the price broke down from the pattern this week, indicating a resumption of the stock’s longer-term downtrend that started in December.
In recent days, selling has accelerated, with the price closing below both the 50- and 200-day moving averages in Thursday’s trading session, a move that coincided with the relative strength index falling sharply below its neutral threshold toward oversold territory. Moreover, today’s drop occurred on heavy volume, signaling that larger market participants drove the selling.
Let’s identify three major price levels on Tesla’s chart where the shares could encounter support and also locate a key overhead area to watch during future upswings.
The first major support level to watch sits around $265. The shares may attract buying interest in this region near a range of trading activity within the rising wedge pattern and several peaks that developed on the chart last year between July and October.
A close below this level could see the shares fall to $215. This area may provide support near a horizontal line that connects a series of price action on the chart stretching back to last July. The location also closely aligns with a projected bars pattern target that takes the stock’s steep move lower from late March to early April and repositions it from the rising wedge pattern’s breakdown point.
Tesla bulls’ failure to defend this major level opens the door for a retest of lower support at $170. Investors may view this area as a potential trading floor near a period of sideways drift that formed on the chart throughout May and June last year.
During upswings in Tesla’s share price, investors should closely monitor the $365 area. A recovery effort to this level could see investors look for exit points near the top of the rising wedge pattern and minor peaks that emerged on the chart in late November and mid-February.
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