Bernstein says Musk was 'curt' and 'almost dismissive' on earnings call, sees stock dropping nearly 30%

Published Thu, Oct 20 20228:18 AM EDTUpdated Thu, Oct 20 20228:11 PM EDT

Tesla 's quarterly revenue came in below expectations , and Elon Musk's remarks on the earnings call also seemed to upset a top tech analyst on Wall Street. Toni Sacconaghi, Bernstein senior research analyst who has a underperform rating on the EV player, said he's not pleased with the Tesla CEO's performance on the call. "Aside from the financials, the earnings call didn't sit well with us," Sacconaghi said in a note Thursday. "Answers to many questions on the earnings call were curt and almost dismissive, with CEO Musk instead repeatedly making very bold prognostications about Tesla's future and capabilities." The analyst said Tesla earnings call was less informative than usual with Musk dodging concerns and questions about demand, the potential for lower prices and details about Inflation Reduction Act. Instead, Sacconaghi said Musk tried to highlight Tesla's potential and aspirations. Musk said on the call Wednesday that he sees a potential path for Tesla to be worth "more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined." The CEO also said Tesla is "pedal to the metal" even with potential recession looming. Sacconaghi set his 12-month price target at $150 for Tesla, which would translate into a nearly 30% fall from Wednesday's close of $222.04. The analyst said he continues to worry about demand levels even though Musk claimed his company had "excellent demand" and that it would continue to sell "every car we can make for the foreseeable future.: "Lead times for cars have come down dramatically, especially in China, and we worry about weaker consumer spending and incremental competition," Sacconaghi said. "We believe that Tesla's order backlog declined in the quarter, pointing to orders lagging current production rates." Apparently this is not the first time Sacconaghi was annoyed by Musk's comments on Tesla's earnings call. In the second quarter, Musk had cut Sacconaghi off when he asked a question about lowering capital expenditure, and the CEO called his question "boring" and "bonehead." Tesla did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed report.