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Tesla shares slide 6% as traders take profits from 2020's high-flying stocks

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Tesla's stock is decoupled from underlying fundementals, says CFRA's Nelson
VIDEO4:2404:24
Tesla's stock is decoupled from underlying fundementals, says CFRA's Nelson

Tesla shares were under pressure on Friday as investors continued to take profits from some of the best-performing stocks of 2020.

The stock dropped 6.1%, building on a 5% decline from the previous session. Friday's losses put Tesla on track for its first back-to-back weekly decline since early May; the shares were also headed for their worst day since May 1. This would also be the stock's third one-week loss in 10 weeks.

Tesla's recent declines come as other high-flying stocks fell as well. Apple, Facebook, Alphabet  and were all down at least 0.5% Friday. Those losses come amid increasing concerns over the global economy as the coronavirus pandemic rages on and U.S.-China tensions rise.

"These stocks have been outperforming and as investors get a little bit skittish, I think they naturally pull back a little bit more," Gene Munster, managing partner at Loup Ventures, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday. "I do not think there's anything fundamentally wrong with most of these companies … I think most of them are still great companies to own for the long term."

Tesla has been on fire this year, rallying more than 250%. Over the past month alone, the shares are up more than 50%.

On Wednesday, Tesla reported its fourth straight quarterly profit, making it eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500 index. The company's adjusted profit totaled $2.18 per share, easily topped a Refinitiv estimate of 3 cents per share. To be sure, those profits were driven mostly by the sale of regulatory credits. 

Correction: Tesla reported its fourth straight quarterly profit on Wednesday. An earlier version misstated the day.

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